


















( 1859 - 1917 ) 



/ 

THE 

YELLOWSTONE 
NATIONAL PARK 

HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE 


By 

HIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN 

Brigadier-General United States Army. (Ret.) 

Author of 11 American Fur Trade of the Far West” “History 
of Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri River,” etc. 

Illustrated ' 





New and Enlarged Edition , Entirely Revised 


/ 



J. E. Haynes, Publisher 

SAINT PAUL 



Y^zz 

,Cj S' ‘-f- 



Copyright, 1895 , 1903 , 1915 , 1918 , by 
HIRAM MARTIN CHITTENDEN 

Copyright 1924 by 
MRS. HIRAM M. CHITTENDEN 


All Rights Reserved 
Copyright in England 




AUG 21 1924 




Vt. <v 




The second revision was made shortly before the death 
of the author in 1917. This general revision is the third. 


PREFACE 

I N submitting to the public this second general revision 
of “ The Yellowstone,” reference to the author’s official 
connection, now permanently severed, with the region to 
which it relates may not be out of place. It has proven a 
rule almost without exception that those who have been 
assigned to duty in the Park, whether in public or private 
capacity, have become enamored of the service there and 
have accepted its termination with feelings of affectionate 
regret. Such was emphatically the author’s experience. A 
two years’ detail (1891-92) as assistant to the officer in 
charge of road construction, developed an interest in that 
region which has never since diminished. The first edition 
of “The Yellowstone” (1895) was an outgrowth of that 
early acquaintance. Later, in 1899, after the close of the 
Spanish-American war, the author was again sent to the 
Park, this time in exclusive charge of the road work. By 
a fortunate combination of circumstances Congress was 
induced to give upward of a million dollars for the work 
during the next seven years and thus to make possible the 
development of a really comprehensive system of highways. 

This work, which embraced the construction, more or less 
complete, of about four hundred miles of mountain roads, 
was of absorbing interest, and it is a matter of no 
especial credit that the author should have given to it, 
from beginning to end, the utmost of his time and abilities. 
It was in the fullest sense a labor of love and to an un¬ 
usual degree one of direct personal supervision. Disap¬ 
pointment there was, as in all similar work, in the never- 
ceasing, but rarely successful, effort to bridge completely 
the chasm between an ideal result and that which available 
resources permit. Sacrifice, too, there was, apart from the 

iii 



iv 


PREFACE 


deep draught upon physical energy, in the relinquishment 
of opportunities of greater professional importance else¬ 
where, but the determination to see the work through pre¬ 
vailed over all other considerations. Then there was at 
the time the irresistible “ call of the wild ”—grandeur of 
scenery, cerulean skies, the entrancing lure of the forest 
trails, and those myriad other inspiring influences which 
make one content to accept a mountain life as one’s perma¬ 
nent lot. The spell was a real one and the memory of it 
still lingers like the aroma of a feast that is done, but 
with the poignant reflection that it can be no more. 

Thus it results that this revision of “ The Yellowstone ” is 
full of reminiscence to the author—a fact which is doubt¬ 
less sufficiently apparent in the following pages. But it 
has also been a work of painstaking care, and no labor has 
been spared to make the book an authority upon the sub¬ 
ject of which it treats. In the historical section greater 
care has been taken in the literary form; the repertoire 
of Bridger stories has been enlarged, and additional facts 
are presented concerning that interesting pioneer, John 
Colter. The descriptive section has been extensively altered 
to conform to the progress of events, particularly in their 
relation to the administrative work of the Park. 

As to the subject-matter itself, the author may properly 
repeat here from the preface of the previous edition that in 
every important respect the Yellowstone Park has so far 
fulfilled the expectation of its founders and has justified 
the wisdom of its creation. Our national parks are grow¬ 
ing into an institution and the Yellowstone was the pioneer 
and remains the most important of them all. If official 
ambition for innovation and mercenary ambition for private 
gain are held under adequate restraint , there is no reason 
why it may not continue to the latest generation a genuine 
example of original nature—a benefit and an enjoyment, as 
the Act of Dedication puts it, to the people whose wisdom 
has preserved it to posterity. 


CONTENTS 


PART I.—HISTORICAL 


CHAPTER I.—The Name “ Yellowstone ”. 

CHAPTER II.—The Indian and the Yellowstone. 

CHAPTER III.—The Trader and Trapper. 

CHAPTER IV.—John Colter . 

CHAPTER V.—Early Knowledge of the Yellowstone. 

CHAPTER VI.—Bridger and His Stories. 

CHAPTER VII.—Raynolds’ Expedition. 

CHAPTER VIII.—The Gold-seeker . 

CHAPTER IX.—Discovery . 

CHAPTER X.—The National Park Idea—Its Origin and 
Realization . 

‘ 

CHAPTER XI.—Why So Long Unknown. 

CHAPTER XII.—Later Explorations . 

CHAPTER XIII.—The Park Names. 

CHAPTER XIV.—Administrative History of the Park. 

CHAPTER XV.—Hostile Indians in the Park. 

CHAPTER XVI.—Experiences of the Radersburg Tourists... 

CHAPTER XVII.—Experiences of the Helena Tourists. 

CHAPTER XVIII.—Lost in the Wilderness. 


PAGE 

1 

5 

13 

20 

33 

44 

49 

54 

60 

73 

81 

85 

91 

109 

122 

130 

140 

146 


v 




















Vi CONTENTS 

PART II.—DESCRIPTIVE 

PAGE 

CHAPTER I.—Boundaries and Topography. 155 

CHAPTER II.—Geological History of the Park. 168 

CHAPTER III.—The Rocks of the Park.. 177 

CHAPTER IV.—Geysers . 181 

CHAPTER V.—Hot Springs and Kindred Features. 188 

CHAPTER VI.—The Climate of the Park. 197 

CHAPTER VII.—Fauna of the Yellowstone.. 202 

CHAPTER VIII.—Flora of the Yellowstone.215 

CHAPTER IX.—Forests of the Yellowstone. 219 

CHAPTER X.—The Flowers of the Yellowstone. 227 

CHAPTER XI.—The Park Road System. 237 

CHAPTER XII.—Administration of the Park. 252 

CHAPTER XIII.—A Tour of the Park—Preliminary. 260 

CHAPTER XIV.—A Tour of the Park—North Boundary to 

Mammoth Hot Springs. 263 

CHAPTER XV.—A Tour of the Park—Mammoth Hot 

Springs to Norris Geyser Basin. 269 

CHAPTER XVI.—A Tour of the Park—Norris Geyser Basin 

to Lower Geyser Basin. 273 

CHAPTER XVII.—A Tour of the Park—Lower Geyser 

Basin to Upper Geyser Basin. 278 

CHAPTER XVIII.—A Tour of the Park—Upper Geyser 

Basin to Yellowstone Lake Hotel. 284 

CHAPTER XIX.—A Tour of the Park—Yellowstone Lake to 

the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. 298 

CHAPTER XX.—A Tour of the Park—Grand Canyon to 

Tower Falls—Mt. Washburn. 306 

CHAPTER XXI.—A Tour of the Park—Tower Falls to the 

Mammoth Hot Springs. 317 























CONTENTS vii 

APPENDIX 

PAGE 

Mountain Ranges, Peaks, Buttes, Ridges, Hills. 327 

Mountain Passes. 328 

Lakes . 328 

Streams . 329 

Waterfalls . 331 

List of Prominent Geysers. 331 

Biographical Notes. 335 


) 










ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Hiram Martin Chittenden, (1859-1917). 

Portrait ..... Frontispiece 

Grand Canyon and Great Fall of the Yellowstone 

from Artist Point ..... 20 

Jupiter and Pulpit Terraces at Mammoth Hot 

Springs ....... 42 

Great Fall of the Yellowstone—Original Sketch 
by Private Moore, a Soldier in the Escort of 
the Washburn Expedition of 1870. (First 
Picture of the Fall ever made) . . . 67 

National Park Mountain and Automobile Stages. 

While the Washburn Party was encamped in 
the foreground, September 19, 1870, the prop¬ 
osition to create Yellowstone National Park 
was first suggested. Automobiles were first 
admitted to the Park in 1915 . . . 80 

Tower Fall and Towers. Height of the Fall, 132 

Feet.100 

Old Faithful Inn and Automobile Stages, Upper 

Geyser Basin ...... 117 

Grand Canyon Bridge . . . . • 150 

Old Faithful Geyser ..... 185 

Christmas Tree Park near the West Entrance of 

the Park ...... 238 

Chittenden Bridge over the Yellowstone River at 
Grand Canyon—the longest Melan Arch 
Bridge in the World .... 246 

Golden Gate Viaduct. (Built in 1900) . . 267 

Beehive Geyser . . • • • • 281 

Great Fall of the Yellowstone—308 Feet in Height 301 
Turnabout on Mt. Washburn—the Chittenden Road 309 
Lower End of the Grand Canyon near Tower Fall 315 















THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


PART I.—HISTORICAL 


CHAPTER I 


THE NAME <e YELLOWSTONE 99 


^WIS and Clark passed the first winter of their famous 



JLrf trans-continental expedition among the Mandan In¬ 
dians, on the Missouri River, fifty-six miles above the 
present capital of North Dakota. When about to resume 
their westward journey in the spring of 1805, they sent 
back to President Jefferson a report of progress and a map 
of the country they were traversing based upon informa¬ 
tion derived from the Indians. In this report and upon 
this map appear, probably for the first time in any official 
document, the words “ Yellow Stone 99 as the name of the 
principal tributary of the Missouri. 

It seems, however, that Lewis and Clark were not the 
first actually to use the name. David Thompson, himself 
a celebrated explorer and geographer, prominently iden¬ 
tified with the British fur trade in the Northwest, was 
among the Mandan Indians on the Missouri River from 
December 29, 1797, to January 10, 1798. While there he 
secured data, principally from the natives, from which he 
estimated the latitude and longitude of the source of the 
Yellowstone River. In his original manuscript journal 
and field note-books, containing the record of his determina- 




2 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


tions, the words “ Yellow Stone ” appear precisely as used 
by Lewis and Clark in 1805. This is, perhaps, the first 
use of the name in its Anglicized form, and it is certainly 
the first attempt to determine accurately the geographical 
location of the source of the stream.* 

Neither Thompson nor Lewis and Clark were originators 
of the name. They gave us only the English translation 
of a name already long in use. “This river,” say the 
American explorers, in their journal for the day of their 
arrival at the mouth of the now noted stream, “had been 
known to the French as the Roche Jaune, or, as we have 
called it, the Yellow Stone.” The French name was, in 
fact, in general use among the traders and trappers of the 
Northwest Fur Company, when Lewis and Clark met them 
among the Mandans. Even by the members of the expedi¬ 
tion it seems to have been more generally used than the new 
English form; and the spellings, “ Rejone,” “ Rejhone,” 
“ Rochejone,” “ Rochejohn,” and “ Rochejhone,” are among 
their various attempts to render orthographically the 
French pronunciation. 

Probably the name would have been adopted unchanged, 
as so many other French names in our geography have 
been, except for the recent cession of Louisiana to the 
United States. The policy which led the government 
promptly to explore, and take formal possession of, its 
extensive acquisition, led it also, as part of the process of 
Americanization, to give English names to all of the more 
prominent geographical features. In this particular in¬ 
stance the process of change was slow. The French form 


* Thompson’s estimate: 

Latitude, 43° 39' 45" north. 

Longitude, 109° 43' 17" west. 

Yount Peak, sourcp of the Yellowstone (Hayden) : 
Latitude, 43° 57' north. 

Longitude, 109° 52' west. 

Thompson’s error: 

In latitude, 17' 15". 

In longitude, 8' 43", or about 21 miles. 



THE NAME “YELLOWSTONE 


3 


had obtained such wide currency that it was reluctantly 
set aside for its less familiar translation. As late as 1817, 
it still appeared in newly English printed books,* while 
among the traders and trappers of the mountains it sur¬ 
vived to a much, later period. 

By whom the name Roche Jaune, or its equivalent 
form, Pierre Jaune, was first used, it would be extremely 
interesting to know; but it is impossible to determine at 
this late day. Like their successor, “ Yellow Stone,” these 
names were not originals, but only translations. The In¬ 
dian tribes along the Yellowstone and upper Missouri 
Rivers had names for the tributary stream signifying 
“ yellow rock,” f and the French had doubtless adopted 
them long before any of their number saw the stream itself. 

It thus appears that the name, which has now become 
so celebrated, descends to us, through two translations, from 
those native races whose immemorial dwelling place had 
been along the stream which it describes. What it was 
that led them to use the name is easily discoverable. 
Seventy-five miles below the ultimate source of the river 
lies the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, distinguished 
among the notable canyons of the globe by the marvelous 
coloring of its walls. The prevailing tint is yellow, and 
every gradation, from the brilliant plumage of the yellow 
bird to the rich saffron of the orange, greets the eye in 
bewildering profusion. There is indeed other color, un¬ 
paralleled in variety and abundance, but the ever-present 
background of it all is the beautiful fifth color of the 
spectrum. 

So prominent is this feature that it never fails to attract 
attention, and all descriptions of the Canyon abound in 
references to it. Lieutenant Doane (1870) notes the 
“ brilliant yellow color ” of the rocks. Captain Barlow and 
Dr. Hayden (1871) refer, in almost the same words, 

* Bradbury’s “ Travels in the Interior of America.” 

t The name “ Elk River ” was also used among the Crow In¬ 
dians. 



4 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

to “the yellow, nearly vertical walls.” Raymond (1871) 
speaks of the “ bright yellow of the sulphury clay.” Cap¬ 
tain Jones (1873) says that “about and in the Grand 
Canyon the rocks are nearly all tinged a brilliant yellow.” 
These early impressions might be repeated from the 
writings of every subsequent visitor who has described the 
scenery of the Yellowstone. 

That a characteristic which so deeply moves the modem 
beholder should have made an impression on the mind of 
the Indian need hardly be premised; and from the remote 
period of his first acquaintance with this region, the name 
of the river has undoubtedly descended. 

Going back, then, to this obscure fountain-head, at least 
one original designation is found to have been 
Mi tsi a da zi* Rock Yellow River. 

And this, in the French tongue, became 

Roche Jaune and Pierre Jaune; 
and in English, 

Yellow Rock and Yelloiv Stone. 

Established usage now writes it 

Yellowstone. 


* Minnetaree, one of the Siouan family of languages. 



CHAPTER II 


THE INDIAN AND THE YELLOWSTONE 

I T is a singular fact in the history of the Yellowstone 
National Park that very little knowledge of that coun¬ 
try seems to have been derived from native sources. 
The explanation ordinarily advanced is that the Indians 
had a superstitious fear of the geyser regions, and there¬ 
fore avoided them. How far investigation supports this 
theory is an interesting inquiry. 

Three great families of Indians, the Siouan, the Algon- 
quian, and the Shoshonean, originally occupied the country 
around the sources of the Yellowstone. Of these three 
families the following tribes are alone of interest in this 
connection: The Crows, of the Siouan family; the Black- 
feet, of the Algonquian family; and the Bannocks, the 
Eastern Shoshones, and the Sheepeaters, of the Shosho¬ 
nean family. 

The home of the Crows was in the Valley of the Yellow¬ 
stone and Big Horn Rivers, below the mountains, where 
they have dwelt since the white man’s earliest knowledge 
of them. Their territory extended to the mountains which 
bound the Yellowstone Park on the north and east; but 
they never occupied or claimed any of the country beyond. 
Their well-known tribal characteristics were an insatiable 
love of horse stealing and a wandering and predatory 
habit which caused them to roam over all the West from 
the Black Hills to the Bitter Root Mountains, and from 
the British Possessions to the Spanish Provinces. They 
were generally friendly to the whites, but enemies of the 
neighboring Blackfeet and Shoshones. Physically, they 

5 


6 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


were a stalwart, handsome race, fine horsemen and daring 
hunters. They were everywhere encountered by the trap¬ 
per and prospector, who generally feared them more on 
account of their thievish habits than for reasons of per¬ 
sonal safety. 

The Blaekfeet dwelt in the country drained by the 
headwaters of the Missouri. The distinguishing historic 
trait of these Indians was a settled hostility to their 
neighbors, whether white or Indian. They were a tribe 
of perpetual fighters, justly characterized as the Ishmael- 
ites of their race. From the day in 1806, when Captain 
Lewis slew one of their number, down to their final sub¬ 
jection by the advancing power of the whites, they never 
buried the hatchet. They were the terror of the trapper 
and miner, and hundreds of the pioneers perished at their 
hands. Like the Crows, they were a well-developed race, 
good horsemen and great rovers, but, in fight, given to 
subterfuge and stratagem rather than to open boldness of 
action.* 

In marked contrast with these warlike and wandering 
tribes were those of the great Shoshonean family, who 
occupied the country around the southern, eastern, and 
western borders of the Park, including also that of the Park 
itself. The Shoshones as a family were inferior to most 
of the surrounding tribes. Their country was largely a 
barren waste and their precarious means of subsistence 
made them the prey of their powerful and merciless 
neighbors. The names “ Fish-eaters,” “ Root-diggers,” and 

* The term Blaekfeet in the earlier years of the past century 
embraced, in popular language, four tribes—the Blaekfeet proper, 
the Bloods, the Piegan, and the Grosventres of the Prairies. The 
Grosventres did not properly belong to the Blaekfeet at all, but 
were related to the Arapahoes, who dwelt near the headwaters of 
the Arkansas. In some of their early migrations the two tribes 
had become separated, the Grosventres settling down in the coun¬ 
try of the Blaekfeet, with whom, in the course of long association, 
they became closely identified. They were the most relentlessly 
hostile to the whites of any of the four tribes. It was a Gros- 
ventre Indian that Captain Lewis killed in 1806. 



THE INDIAN AND THE YELLOWSTONE 7 


other opprobrious epithets, indicate the contempt in which 
they were commonly held. For the most part they had no 
horses, and obtained a livelihood only by the most abject 
means. Some of the tribes, however, rose above this 
degraded condition, owned horses, hunted buffalo, and met 
their enemies in open conflict. Such were the Bannocks 
and the Eastern Shoshones—tribes closely connected with 
the history of the Park, one occupying the country to the 
southwest near the Teton Mountains, and the other that 
to the southeast in the Valley of Wind River. The 
Shoshones were generally friendly to the whites, and for 
this reason they figure less prominently in the books of 
early adventure than do the Blackfeet, whose acts of 
“ sanguinary violence ” were a staple article for the Indian 
romancer. 

It was an humble branch of the Shoshonean family 
which alone is known to have dwelt in the region of the 
Yellowstone Park. They were called Tukuarika, or, more 
commonly, Sheepeaters. They were found in the Park 
country at the time of its discovery, and had doubtless 
long been there. These Indians were veritable hermits 
of the mountains, utterly unfit for warlike contention, and 
seem to have sought immunity from their dangerous 
neighbors by dwelling among the inaccessible fastnesses 
of the mountains. Their rigorous existence left its mark 
on their physical nature. They were feeble in mind, 
diminutive in stature, and are described as a “ timid, 
harmless race.” They may have been longer resident in 
this region than is commonly supposed, for there was a 
tradition among them, apparently connected with some 
remote period of geological disturbance, that most of their 
race were once destroyed by a terrible convulsion of nature. 

Such were the Indian tribes who formerly dwelt within 
or near the country now embraced in the Yellowstone 
Park. That the Sheepeaters actually occupied this country, 
and that wandering bands from other tribes occasionally 
visited it, there is abundant proof. Indian trails, though 


8 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


indistinct, were found by the early explorers, generally on 
lines since occupied by the tourist routes. One of these 
followed the Yellowstone Valley across the Park from 
north to south. It divided at Yellowstone Lake, the prin¬ 
cipal branch following the east shore, crossing Two-Ocean- 
Pass, and intersecting a great trail which connected the 
Snake and Wind River Valleys. The other branch passed 
along the west shore of the lake and over the divide to the 
valley of the Snake River and Jackson Lake. This trail 
was intersected by an important one in the vicinity of 
Conant Creek leading up from the Upper Snake Valley to 
that of Henry Fork. Other intersecting trails connected 
the Yellowstone River trail with the Madison and Firehole 
Basins on the west and with the Bighorn Valley on the 
east. 

The most important trail, however, was that known as 
the Great Bannock Trail. It extended from Henry Lake 
across the Gallatin Range to Mammoth Hot Springs, 
where it was joined by another coming up the valley of 
the Gardiner. Thence it led across the plateau to the 
ford above Tower Falls; and thence up the Lamar Valley, 
forking at Soda Butte, and reaching the Bighorn Valley 
by way of Clark’s Fork and the Shoshone River. This trail 
was an ancient and much-traveled one. It had become 
a deep furrow in the grassy slopes, and in recent years 
was still visible in places, though unused for a quarter of 
a century. 

Additional evidence of Indian acquaintance with the 
Upper Yellowstone may be seen in the discovery of im¬ 
plements peculiar to Indian use. Arrows and spear heads 
have been found in considerable numbers. Obsidian Cliff 
was a quarry for these weapons, and numbers have been 
picked up in the open country near the outlet of Yellow¬ 
stone Lake. It is said that certain implements, such as 
pipes, hammers, and stone vessels, indicating the former 
presence of a more civilized people, have been found to 
a limited extent; and some explorers have thought that 


THE INDIAN AND THE YELLOWSTONE 9 


a symmetrical mound in the valley of the Snake River, 
below the mouth of Heart Kiver, is of artificial origin. 
Reference will be made later to the discovery of a rude 
granite structure near the top of the Grand Teton, which 
is unquestionably of very ancient date. Rustic Geyser, in 
the Heart Lake Basin, is “ bordered by logs which are 
coated with a crystalline, semi-translucent deposit of 
geyserite. These logs were evidently placed around the 
geyser by either Indians or white men a number of years 
ago, as the coating is thick and the logs firmly attached 
to the surrounding deposit.” * More recent and perish¬ 
able proofs were found by the early explorers in the rude 
wick-e-ups, brush inclosures, and similar contrivances of 
the lonely Sheepeaters. 

While there is no doubt that Indians occasionally visited 
the Park country, as the foregoing evidence proves, it is 
equally certain that their acquaintance with it was ex¬ 
tremely limited. Very little information about the geyser 
regions was derived from them. With one or two excep¬ 
tions, the old trails were indistinct, requiring an experi¬ 
enced eye to distinguish them from game trails. Their 
undeveloped condition indicated infrequent use. Old 
trappers who knew this region in early times say that the 
great majority of Indians never saw it. Able Indian 
guides in the surrounding country became lost when they 
entered the Park country, and the Nez Perces were forced 
to impress a white man as guide when they crossed it in 
1877. 

A writer, to whom extended reference will be made in 
a later chapter, visited the Upper Geyser Basin in 1832, 
accompanied by two Pend d’Oreilles Indians. Neither of 
these Indians had ever seen or apparently heard of the 
geysers, and they “ were quite appalled ” at the sight of 
them, believing them to be “ supernatural ” and the “ pro¬ 
duction of the Evil Spirit.” 

* Page 298, Twelfth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden. It is more 
than probable that this was the work of trappers. 



10 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Lieutenant Doane, who commanded the military escort 
to the Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, says in his report : * 

“ Appearances indicated that the basin [of the Yellow¬ 
stone Lake] had been almost entirely abandoned by the 
sons of the forest. A few lodges of Sheepeaters, a branch 
remnant of the Snake tribe, wretched beasts who run from 
the sight of a white man, or from any other tribe of In¬ 
dians, are said to inhabit the fastnesses of the mountains 
around the lakes, poorly armed and dismounted, obtaining 
a precarious subsistence and in a defenseless condition. 
We saw, however, no recent traces of them. The larger 
tribes never enter the basin, restrained by superstitious 
ideas in connection with the thermal springs.” 

In 1880, Colonel P. W. Norris, Second Superintendent 
of the Park, had a long interview on the shore of the 
Yellowstone Lake with We-Saw, “an old but remarkably 
intelligent Indian” of the Shoshone tribe, who was then 
acting as guide to an exploring party under Governor 
Hoyt, of Wyoming, and who had previously passed through 
the Park with the expedition of 1873 under Captain W. A. 
Jones, U. S. A. He had also been in the Park region on 
former occasions. Colonel Norris records the following 
facts fromjhis Indian’s conversation: f 

“ We-Saw states that he had neither knowledge nor 
tradition of any permanent occupants of the Park save 
the timid Sheepeaters. ... He said that his people [Sho¬ 
shones], the Bannocks, and the Crows, occasionally visited 
the Yellowstone Lake and River portions of the Park, but 
very seldom the geyser regions, which he declared were 
‘ heap, heap, bad,’ and never wintered there, as white men 
sometimes did with horses.” 

It seems that even the resident Sheepeaters knew little 
of the geyser basins. General Sheridan, who entered the 


* Page 26, “ Yellowstone Expedition of 1870.” 
t Page 38, Annual Report of Superintendent of the Park for 
1881. 



THE INDIAN AND THE YELLOWSTONE 11 


Park from the South in 1882, makes this record in his 
report of the expedition: * 

“ We had with us five Sheep-eating Indians as guides, 
and, strange to say, although these Indians had lived for 
years and years about Mounts Sheridan and Hancock, and 
the high mountains southeast of the Yellowstone Lake, 
they knew nothing about the Firehole Geyser Basin, and 
they exhibited more astonishment and wonder than any 
of us.” 

Evidence like the foregoing indicates that this country 
was terra incognita to the vast body of Indians who dwelt 
around it, and again this singular fact presents itself for 
explanation. Was it, as is generally supposed, a “ super¬ 
stitious fear” that kept them away? The incidents just 
related give some color to such a theory; but if it were 
really true, we should expect to find well authenticated 
Indian traditions of so marvelous a country. Unfor¬ 
tunately history records none that are worthy of considera¬ 
tion. Only in the names “ Yellowstone ” and “ Burning 
Mountains ” do we find any original evidence that this land 
of wonders appealed in the least degree to the native 
imagination.*)* 

The real explanation appears to rest on grounds essen¬ 
tially practical. There was nothing to induce the Indians 
to visit the Park country. For three-fourths of the year 
that country is inaccessible on account of snow. It is cov¬ 
ered with dense forests, which in most places are so filled 
with fallen timber and tangled underbrush as to be prac¬ 
tically impassable. As a game country in those early days 
it could not compare with the lower surrounding valleys. 
As a highway of communication between the valleys of the 
Missouri, Snake, Yellowstone, and Bighorn Rivers, it was 
no thoroughfare. The great routes, except the Bannock 


* Page 11, Report on Explorations of Parts of Wyoming, Idaho 
and Montana, 1882. 
f See, however, page 41. 



12 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


trail already described, lay on the outside. All the condi¬ 
tions, therefore, which might attract the Indians to this 
region were wanting. Even those sentimental influences, 
such as a love of sublime scenery and a curiosity to see 
the strange freaks of nature, evidently had less weight with 
them than with their paleface brethren. 


CHAPTER III 


THE TRADER AND TRAPPER 

T HE tourist who visits the Park by the northern en¬ 
trance leaves the main line of the railway at Living¬ 
ston, Mont., and takes a branch road which leads almost 
directly south fifty miles up the valley of the Yellowstone 
River. It is at this point that the river, after flowing 
north a hundred and fifty miles, turns abruptly to the 
east to join the Missouri more than four hundred miles 
below. As the traveler stands on the station platform and 
surveys the little valley hemmed in by the mountains, he 
sees to the south a prominent gap through which the river 
approaches and through which his train will soon bear him. 
Looking to his right, as he stands facing this gap, he sees 
the main track of the railroad coming in from the west 
from over a pass ten miles distant which separates the 
waters of the Yellowstone from those of the Missouri. 
This pass—Bozeman by name and now pierced by a rail¬ 
way tunnel—was a great thoroughfare for the Indian just 
as it has proven to be for the white man who followed 
him. It is interesting historic ground and the scene of 
many a thrilling episode in the pioneer history of Montana. 

If our traveler has taken the trouble to post himself 
upon the history of the country he is visiting, he will 
picture to himself, as he looks westerly up the line of the 
railway, an event which took place there more than a cen¬ 
tury before, or to be exact, about noon of the 15th of July, 
1806. At that hour there might have been seen approach¬ 
ing the river a company of eleven white men, a squaw 
and child, and a cavalcade of fifty horses. It was, so 
far as we know, the coming of the white man for the 
first time to this important spot. The company was a 

13 


U THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


detachment from the homeward bound expedition of Lewis 
and Clark and was under the command of Captain Clark 
himself. 

No better proof need be sought of the general ignorance 
of the Park country which prevailed among the surround¬ 
ing tribes than the fact that no rumor of that marvelous 
region seems to have reached the ears of these explorers. 
Their comments show that they suspected nothing of the 
truth, and as they looked south through the mountain 
gap upon peaks still white with the previous winter snows, 
there was no suggestion that a side trip in that direction 
would be rewarded by any unusual discovery. It was a 
fortunate escape for that region, in view of its future 
destiny, as we shall explain more fully further on; but 
one cannot help regretting that this early expedition, which 
made such a success of all it undertook, should have 
missed altogether the most remarkable natural phenomena 
that lay along its entire route. 

For fifty years after Lewis and Clark returned from 
their expedition, the headwaters of the Yellowstone re¬ 
mained unexplored except by the trader and trapper. It 
was the traffic in peltries that first induced extensive ex¬ 
ploration of the West. Concerning the precious metals, 
the people seem to have had little faith in their abundant 
existence there, and no organized search for them was 
made in the earlier years of the century. But that country 
had other and important sources of wealth. Myriads of 
beaver inhabited the streams and innumerable buffalo 
roamed the valleys. The buffalo furnished the trapper 
with means of subsistence, and beaver furs were better 
than mines of gold. Far in advance of the tide of settle¬ 
ment the lonely trapper, and after him the trader, pene¬ 
trated the unknown West. Gradually the enterprise of 
individuals crystallized around a few important nuclei and 
there grew up those great fur-trading companies which 
for many years exercised a kind of paternal sway over the 
Indians and the scarcely more civilized trappers. A brief 


THE TRADER AND TRAPPER 


15 


resume of the history of these companies will show how 
important a place they occupy in the early history of the 
Upper Yellowstone. 

The climax of the western fur business may be placed 
at about the year 1830. At that time three great com¬ 
panies operated in territories whose converging lines of 
separation centered in the region about Yellowstone Lake. 
The oldest and most important of them, and the one 
destined to outlive the others, was the world-renowned 
Hudson’s Bay Company. It was at that time more than 
a century and a half old. Its earlier history was in marked 
contrast with that of later years. Secure in the monopoly 
which its extensive charter rights guaranteed, it had been 
content with substantial profits and had never pushed its 
business rapidly into new territory nor managed it with 
aggressive vigor. It was not until forced to action by the 
encroachments of a dangerous rival that it became the 
prodigious power of later times. 

This rival was the Northwest Fur Company of Montreal. 
It had grown up since the French and Indian War, partly 
as a result of that conflict, and finally took corporate form 
in 1787. It had none of the important territorial rights 
of the Hudson’s Bay Company, but its lack of monopoly 
was more than made up by the enterprise of its promoters. 
With its bands of Canadian frontiersmen, it boldly pene¬ 
trated the Northwest and extended its operations far into 
the unexplored interior. Lewis and Clark found its traders 
among the Mandans in 1804. In 1811 the Astorians saw 
its first party descend the Columbia to the sea. Two years 
later the American traders on the Pacific Coast were forced 
to succumb to their British rivals. 

A long and bitter strife now ensued between the two 
British companies. It even assumed the magnitude of 
civil war, and finally resulted in a frightful massacre of 
unoffending colonists. The British government interfered 
and forced the rivals into court, where they were brought 
to the verge of ruin by protracted litigation. A compro- 


16 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


mise was effected in 1821 by an amalgamation of the two 
companies under the name of the older rival. 

But in the meantime a large part of their best fur 
country had been lost. In 1816 the government of the 
United States excluded British traders from its territory 
east of the Rocky Mountains. To the west of this limit, 
however, the amalgamated company easily forced all its 
rivals from the field. No American company ever attained 
the splendid organization, nor the influence over the In¬ 
dians, possessed by the Hudson’s Bay Company. At the 
time of which we write it was master of the trade in the 
Columbia River Valley, and the eastern limit of its opera¬ 
tions within the territory of the United States was nearly 
coincident with the present western boundary of the Yel¬ 
lowstone Park. 

The second of the great companies to which reference 
has been made was the American Fur Company. It was 
the final outcome of John Jacob Astor’s various attempts 
to control the fur trade of the United States. Although it 
was incorporated in 1808, it was for a time overshadowed 
by the more brilliant enterprises known as the Pacific Fur 
Company and the Southwest Fur Company. The history 
of Mr. Astor’s Pacific Fur Company, the dismal experi¬ 
ences of the Astorians, and the deplorable failure of the 
whole undertaking, are matters familiar to all readers of 
Irving’s “ Astoria.” 

The other project gave for a time more substantial 
promise of success. A British company of considerable 
importance, under the name of the Mackinaw Company, 
with headquarters at Michilimacinac, had for some time 
operated in the country about the headwaters of the Missis¬ 
sippi now included in the States of Wisconsin and Min¬ 
nesota. Astor formed a new company, partly with Amer¬ 
ican and partly with Canadian capital, bought out the 
Mackinaw Company and changed its name to Southwest 
Fur Company. But scarcely had its promising career 
begun when it was cut short by the War of 1812. 


THE TRADER AND TRAPPER 


17 


The failure of these two attempts caused Mr. Astor to 
turn to the old American Fur Company. The Exclusion 
Act of 1816 enabled him to buy at his own price the North¬ 
west Fur Company’s posts on the upper rivers, and the 
American Company rapidly extended its trade over all the 
country, from Lake Superior to the Rocky Mountains. Its 
posts multiplied in every direction, and at an early date 
steamboats began to do its business up the Missouri River 
from St. Louis. It gradually absorbed lesser concerns, 
such as the Missouri Fur Company and the Columbia Fur 
Company, and by 1830 was complete master of the trade 
throughout the Missouri Valley. In 1834, Astor sold his 
interests to Pratte, Chouteau and Company, of St. Louis, 
and retired from the business. At this time the general 
western limits of the territory operated in by this formida¬ 
ble company were the mountains which bound the Yellow¬ 
stone Park on the north and east. Its line of operations 
was down the Missouri River to St. Louis, and its trading 
posts were located at frequent intervals between. 

The third of the rival companies was the Rocky Moun¬ 
tain Fur Company, which was founded in St. Louis in 
1822 by General W. H. Ashley, and received its full organ¬ 
ization in 1826 under the direction of Jedediah S. Smith, 
David Jackson, and William L. Sublette. Among the 
leading spirits, who at one time or another guided its 
affairs, was the famous mountaineer, James Bridger, whose 
name is conspicuous in the history of the Yellowstone. 

This company had its general center of operations on 
the headwaters of Green River to the west of South Pass. 
Unlike the other companies, it had no navigable stream 
along which it could establish posts and conduct its opera¬ 
tions. By the necessities of its exclusively mountain trade 
it developed a new feature of the fur business. The 
voyageur, with his canoe and oar, gave way to the moun¬ 
taineer, with his saddle and rifle. The trading post was 
replaced by the annual “ rendezvous,” which was in many 
points the forerunner of the later cattle “ roundups” of 


18 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the plains. These rendezvous were agreed upon each year 
at localities best suited to the convenience of the trade. 
Hither in the spring came from the east convoys of sup¬ 
plies for the season’s use. Hither repaired also the various 
parties of hunters and trappers and such bands of Indians 
as roamed in the vicinity. These meetings were great 
occasions, both in the transaction of business and in the 
round of festivities that always prevailed. After the traffic 
of the occasion was over, and the plans for the ensuing 
year were agreed upon, the convoys returned to the States 
and the trappers to their retreats in the mountains. The 
field of operations of this company was very extensive and 
included about all of the West not controlled by the Hud¬ 
son’s Bay and American Fur Companies. It bordered the 
Park country on the south and southeast. 

Thus the territory of the great West was practically 
parceled out among these three companies. It must not 
be supposed that there was any agreement, tacit or open, 
that each company should keep within certain limits. # 
There w T ere a few temporary arrangements of this sort, but 
for the most part each company maintained the right to 
work in any territory it saw fit, and there was constant 
invasion by each of the proper territories of the other. 
But the practical necessities of the business kept them, 
broadly speaking, within the limits which we have noted. 
The roving bands of “ free trappers ” and “ lone traders,” 
and individual expeditions like those of Captain Bonneville 
and Nathaniel J. Wyeth, acknowledged allegiance to none 
of the great organizations, but wandered where they chose, 
dealing by turns with each of the companies. 

The vigor and enterprise of these traders caused their 
business to penetrate the remotest and most inaccessible 
corners of the land. Silliman's Journal for January, 1834, 
declares that “ the mountains and forests, from the Arctic 
Sea to the Gulf of Mexico, are threaded through every 
maze by the hunter. Every river and tributary stream, 
from the Columbia to the Rio del Norte, and from the 


THE TRADER AND TRAPPER 


19 


Mackenzie to the Colorado of the West, from their head¬ 
waters to their junctions, are searched and trapped for 
beaver.” 

That a business of such all-pervading character should 
have left a region like our present Yellowstone Park unex¬ 
plored would seem extremely doubtful. That region lay, a 
sort of neutral ground, between the territories of the rival 
companies. Its streams abounded in beaver; and, although 
hemmed in by vast mountains, and snow-bound most of 
the year, it could not have escaped discovery. In fact, 
every part of it was repeatedly visited by trappers, and 
had the fur business been more enduring, the geyser regions 
would have become known at least a generation sooner 
than they were. 

But that business was carried on with such relentless 
vigor that it naturally soon taxed the resources of nature 
beyond their capacity for reproduction. In regions under 
the control of a single organization, as in the vast domains 
of the Hudson’s Bay Company, great care was taken to 
preserve the fur-bearing animals from extinction; but in 
United States territory, the exigencies of competition 
made any such provision impossible. The poor beaver, 
as at a later day the buffalo, quickly succumbed to his 
ubiquitous enemies. There was no spot remote enough for 
him to build his dam in peace, and the once innumerable 
multitude speedily dwindled away. The few years imme¬ 
diately preceding and following 1830 were the halcyon days 
of the fur trade in the United States. Thenceforward it 
rapidly declined, and by 1850 had shrunk to a mere 
shadow of its former greatness. With its disappearance 
the early knowledge of the Upper Yellowstone also dis¬ 
appeared. Subsequent events—the Mormon emigration, the 
war with Mexico, and the discovery of gold—drew attention, 
both private and official, in other directions; and the great 
wonderland became again almost as much unknown as in 
the days of Lewis and Clark. 


CHAPTER IV 


JOHN COLTER 

T HE first white man to set foot within the territory 
of the Yellowstone Park was the individual whose 
name stands at the head of this chapter. He was a typical 
frontiersman, though of more than average ability. Of 
undaunted courage and incredible endurance, his whole 
career, so far as we know it, was filled with perilous adven¬ 
ture, and his exploits might pass for fairy tales were they 
not substantiated by the most reliable evidence. He comes 
to our notice as a private soldier in the expedition of 
Lewis and Clark. During his service under these officers 
he won their respect and praise, and his work after he 
left them has won for him the respect and praise of his 
posterity. 

When Lewis and Clark reached Fort Mandan on their 
return journey in 1806, Colter appealed to them to be 
relieved from further service in order that he might remain 
in the country and trap for beaver. The incident is thus 
recorded in the journal under date of August 15 and 
16, 1806: 

“ In the evening we were applied to by one of our men, 
Colter, who was desirous of joining the two trappers who 
had accompanied us, and who now proposed an expedition 
up the river, in which they were to find traps and give him 
a share of the profits. The offer was a very advantageous 
one, and, as he had always performed his duty, and his 
services might be dispensed with, we agreed that he might 
go, provided none of the rest would ask or expect a similar 
indulgence. To this they cheerfully answered that they 
wished Colter every success and would not apply for liberty 

20 

















JOHN COLTER 


21 


to separate before we reached St. Louis. We therefore 
supplied him, as did his comrades also, with powder, lead, 
and a variety of articles which might be useful to him, 
and he left us the next day.” 

To our explorers, just returning from a two years’ 
sojourn in the wilderness. Colter’s decision seemed too 
remarkable to be passed over in silence. The journal con¬ 
tinues : 

“ The example of this man shows us how easily men 
may be weaned from the habits of civilized life to the 
ruder but scarcely less fascinating manners of the woods. 
This hunter has now been absent for many years from the 
frontier, and might naturally be presumed to have some 
anxiety, or some curiosity at least, to return to his friends 
and his country; yet just at the moment when he is 
approaching the frontiers, he is tempted by a hunting 
scheme to give up those delightful prospects, and go back 
without the least reluctance to the solitude of the woods.” 

Colter remained on the upper rivers until the spring of 
1807, but just where, or with what adventure, is not known. 
After his first winter in the trapping business he decided 
to return to St. Louis. He set out in a log canoe entirely 
alone and made his way in safety as far as to the mouth 
of the Platte River. Here he met an expedition under the 
celebrated trader, Manuel Lisa, bound for the headwaters 
of the Missouri to verify the glowing reports brought back 
by Lewis and Clark concerning the wealth of beaver fur 
to be found in that region. To Lisa the accession of such 
a recruit as John Colter, fresh from the very country to 
which he was going, was a matter of high importance. 
What inducements were offered we do not know, but enough 
to decide the self-exiled hunter to give up his return to 
civilization and to set his face for the third time toward 
the wilderness. 

Manuel Lisa would have saved the historian a great deal 
of trouble if he had kept and published a journal of his 
strenuous activities during the quarter of a century that 


22 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


he was engaged in the fur trade on the Missouri. Had 
he done this we should in the present instance be less in 
doubt as to Colter’s whereabouts and doings during the 
four years following the return of Lewis and Clark. As 
it is, we have to make up the record from several detached 
sources; but fortunately these are sufficiently in accord to 
give reasonable certainty to the main facts as stated below. 

Lisa had expected to find the Blackfeet hostile on account 
of the fact that one of their number had been killed by 
Captain Lewis. It was probably this conviction that led 
him to build his first establishment on the Yellowstone 
River in the country of the Crows, the traditional enemies 
of the Blackfeet. But soon after his arrival in the Crow 
country a detachment of his trappers met a band of the 
Blackfeet who, much to the surprise of the whites, were 
friendly and said that they cherished no ill will on account 
of the incident with Captain Lewis, for it was evident that 
he had acted under great provocation. While this may 
have been, and probably was, subterfuge, Lisa accepted it 
in good faith and with much satisfaction, for it was highly 
important to his operations to have access to the Blackfoot 
country around the sources of the Missouri; and he con¬ 
tinued his efforts to establish himself there during the next 
three years. 

One of his first measures after selecting a site for his 
establishment at the mouth of the Big Horn River, was 
to dispatch Colter to the surrounding tribes for the purpose 
of bringing them in to the fort to trade. We are par¬ 
ticularly concerned with this expedition, for, as will later 
appear, it was the beginning of the white man’s knowledge 
of the Yellowstone. But it is also noteworthy, quite apart 
from its historic value, for the extreme peril and hardihood 
of the adventure, and its immediate bearing upon the rela¬ 
tion of the fur traders to the Indian tribes. 

Colter was sent first to the Crow tribe, who were then 
far away in the mountains, as we learn from the following 
passage from Brackenridge: “ This man, with a pack of 


JOHN COLTER 


23 


thirty pounds weight, his gun, and some ammunition, went 
upward of five hundred miles to the Crow nation; gave 
them information, and proceeded thence to several other 
tribes.” From the map of his route, to be referred to 
later, it is evident that he ascended the Big Horn River 
and the Wind River (the name of the upper course of the 
Big Horn); crossed the Wind River range and very likely 
saw the headwaters of the Colorado of the West; con¬ 
tinued on to what is now Jackson Hole at the eastern base 
of the Tetons; and apparently across Teton Pass to what 
was later known as Pierre’s Hole on the west side of the 
range. Here the party of Crow Indians with whom he 
was at the time, fell in with a band of Blackfeet and the 
inevitable fight which always characterized a meeting of 
these two tribes followed. Colter, by the necessity of the 
case, fought with the Crows, distinguishing himself by his 
valor and receiving a wound in the leg. The Blackfeet 
were worsted and no doubt attributed their discomfiture to 
the paleface ally of their enemies. Colter was thus, to all 
appearances, another involuntary cause of the deadly enmity 
ever afterward cherished by this tribe toward the whites. 

Colter seems to have parted company with the Crows 
soon after this affair and we may conjecture that this took 
place in Jackson Hole, through which the party passed on 
its return to the Crow country on Wind River. Colter, 
who doubtless wanted to get back to Lisa’s fort by the 
shortest route, took the trail north, either by the advice 
of the Crows or through his own good judgment as to the 
saving of distance by that course. Brackenridge records 
that, notwithstanding the wound in his leg, “he returned 
to the establishment entirely alone and without assistance 
several hundred miles.” The interesting fact to us is that 
this part of his journey took him directly across what is 
now the Yellowstone Park. He undoubtedly saw the west 
arm of Yellowstone Lake and the hot springs district there, 
and also the Grand Canyon and Falls of the Yellowstone. 
He crossed Mt. Washburn to the ford over the Yellow- 


24 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


stone at Tower Falls and passed out of the Park by way 
of the East Fork of the Yellowstone and the great Indian 
trail already described in these pages. 

When Colter returned to St. Louis in the spring of 
1810, he described his journey to Captain Clark, who 
incorporated it in the map of their expedition and legended 
it “ Colter’s Route in 1807.” From this map and from 
references by Biddle, Brackenridge, and others, we may 
positively credit Colter with being the first to explore the 
valley of the Big Horn and Wind Rivers, the first to dis¬ 
cover the sources of the Snake River and possibly also those 
of the Colorado of the West; the first to see the Teton 
Mountains, Jackson Hole, and Pierre’s Hole, and most 
important of all, the first to pass through that singular 
region which has since become known throughout the 
world as the Yellowstone Wonderland. He noted, with 
true explorer’s skill, as he well might from his past three 
years’ training, the remarkable conformation of the country 
in the high mountain region where divergent streams flow 
from a common neighborhood to widely separated river 
systems. He commented as follows upon the mountain 
passes between the valleys of the Wind and Snake Rivers. 

“At the head of the Gallatin Fork and of the Grosse 
Corne of the Yellowstone [the Big Horn River], from dis¬ 
coveries since the voyage of Lewis and Clark, it is found 
less difficult to cross than the Allegheny Mountains. 
Colter, a celebrated hunter and woodsman, informed me 
that a loaded wagon would find no obstruction in passing.” 
Colter very likely referred to Bozeman Pass between the 
Gallatin and the Yellowstone and to Union or Togwotee 
Pass at the head of Wind (Big Horn) River. 

All in all, this remarkable achievement—remarkable in 
the courage and hardihood of this lone adventurer and 
remarkable in its unexpected results in geographical dis¬ 
covery—deserves to be classed among the most celebrated 
performances in the history of American exploration. 

Colter had now accomplished enough to entitle him to 


JOHN COLTER 


25 


lasting distinction, but honors of a more peiilous character 
still awaited him. The exact date of this adventure we 
are about to relate has seemed to be difficult to determine; 
but it has now been definitely settled on the authority of 
Thomas James that it was in the autumn of 1808. It was 
an incident of “ one of Colter’s many excursions from the 
post [Lisa’s] to the Forks of the Missouri for beaver” 
(James). The adventure itself concerned only two white 
men—Colter and a companion named Potts, probably the 
same who had been a fellow-soldier in the Lewis and 
Clark expedition. Colter was in the prime of life, about 
thirty-five in years, nearly six feet tall, with an “ open 
pleasing countenance of the Daniel Boone type.” He was 
highly esteemed by his companions, among whom “his 
veracity was never questioned ”—as it might well have been, 
considering the extraordinary character of the experiences 
which he related. Three reputable authorities * have re¬ 
corded these experiences as given to them by Colter him¬ 
self. They agree more closely than such accounts gen¬ 
erally do and undoubtedly represent with reasonable ac¬ 
curacy one of the most remarkable adventures in the whole 
range of American frontier history. The narrative which 
follows is made up from these three authorities, principally 
from James and Bradbury. 

The scene of the adventure was on Jefferson Fork of 
the Missouri at a point not far above the junction with 
the Madison where the two streams were separated by 
about five miles of bottom land. Colter and Potts were 
moving up stream one morning, each in his owh canoe in 
which were several beaver traps to be disposed of at suit¬ 
able places. The high shores or the brushwood bordering 
the stream shut off their view beyond the immediate banks. 
Suddenly they heard a noise like the tramping of many 
buffalo. Colter was for instant flight, fearing it might be 

* “ Travels in North America,” John Bradbury; “ View of 
Louisiana,” Henry M. Brackenridge; “ Three Years Among the 
Indians and Mexicans,” Thomas James. 



26 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Indians, but Potts insisted that it was buffalo and so they 
kept on. A moment later their doubts were settled by the 
appearance of several hundred Indians upon the bank. 

The chiefs motioned to Colter and Potts to come ashore, 
and as it was useless to attempt to escape, they pushed 
their canoes toward the bank, quietly dumping their traps 
into the shallow water. Evidently they did not fully realize 
their great danger and believed they could get away and 
could sometime recover their traps. They had been 
through too many dangers to feel that their end had yet 
come. 

As the prow of Potts’ canoe touched the bottom an 
Indian seized his gun. Colter leaped out, wrenched it 
away, and handed it back to Potts, who, strangely enough, 
pushed back into the stream. Colter protested and told 
him that any effort to escape simply meant suicide. In 
fact, the words were scarcely out of his mouth when an 
arrow struck Potts in the thigh and tumbled him into the 
bottom of the canoe. “ Are you hurt ? ” asked Colter. 
“ Yes, too much to escape. Save yourself, if you can. I’ll 
get one of them at least before I go.” Rising to a sitting 
position he leveled his gun at an Indian, killing him in¬ 
stantly. Scarcely had the sound of his shot died away 
when his own body was riddled with bullets from the 
shore and he fell dead in the bottom of the canoe. The 
Indians darted into the water, dragged the canoe ashore, 
and tore the poor trapper’s body into shreds, flinging the 
flesh into Colter’s face. Potts was perhaps wise to bring 
upon himself swift death instead of lingering torture by 
the savages, but he should have considered what he was 
bringing upon his companion, who now, helpless and 
alone, awaited his fate. 

In the meantime the Indians had stripped Colter stark 
naked, and he stood there expecting every minute to feel 
the shot or blow which would be the beginning of a terrible 
end. But, Indian-like, simple killing was not enough for 
them; they must satisfy their savage cruelty by making 


JOHN COLTER 


27 


death as prolonged and terrible as possible. They held 
a council as to what method to adopt, and here they made 
a capital mistake. They decided that Colter should run 
for his life, never suspecting what a lively sprinter they 
had in their helpless captive. Colter was in fact noted 
among his white companions as being remarkably swift of 
foot. A chief led him out a hundred yards in front of the 
crowd, pointed across the plain in the direction of the 
Madison River, and made a gesture for him to go. Colter 
did not understand at first, but after more gestures, it 
dawned upon him that he was to run for his life. It 
looked like a forlorn hope, but it was a hope and he 
instantly acted upon it. 

Away across the flat prairie, five miles wide between 
the Jefferson and Madison Rivers, sped Colter toward the 
latter stream—sped as never man sped before—as only the 
hope of life could make him. He said afterward that he 
was astonished at his own ability to run. Surely, a stranger 
sight the wild prairies never saw—this lone, naked man 
pursued by a pack of howling savages. But he was too 
much for them. The distance between him and them 
increased. By the time he had gotten halfway across the 
plain, however, he began to feel the effects of his terrible 
exertion. His breath was almost gone, his strength was 
failing, and splashes of blood blew out from his mouth 
and nostrils. He paused and looked around, and to his 
dismay he saw that one solitary Indian was close upon 
him. Compelled to pause for breath, he called to the 
Indian in Crow language (which the Blackfeet understood 
to some extent) and begged for his life. The Indian, 
intent only on his prize, replied by seizing in both hands 
the spear he was carrying and making a desperate lunge 
at Colter. Colter seized the spear shaft near the head, 
and the Indian, himself nearly exhausted, tripped and 
fell at the same instant. The iron spearhead broke off 
in Colters hands and he instantly fell upon the prostrate 
Indian, who now in turn begged Colter in the Crow lan- 


28 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


guage to spare his life. Colter was no more accommodat¬ 
ing than his foe had been. Stabbing the Indian to death, 
he took the spearhead and resumed his flight, feeling, as 
he said, “ as if he had not run a mile.” 

The crowd behind were now furious at having lost 
another of their number, and on they came like a “ legion 
of devils,” as Colter put it, howling and gesticulating 
with rage. But Colter was again too much for them. 
The friendly fringe of willows on the bank of the Madison 
was growing nearer every moment. Reaching it at last, 
Colter darted through and his quick eye discovered near 
at hand an asylum of refuge in the form of a huge beaver 
house on the bank. As is well known, these houses are 
closed on the outside, the only entrance being under water. 
It was a risky venture, but Colter resolved to try it. He 
didn’t have to wait to undress, as most swimmers do. 
Diving into the water, he made for the house and found 
an entrance large enough for his body. He climbed into 
the upper story and was soon sitting high and dry in a 
kind of shelter such as probably no man ever sought 
refuge in before. If he found any beaver there he didn’t 
bother to kill them. 

He escaped not a moment too soon. The tread of the 
Indians quickly told him that they had reached the river. 
For some time he could hear them all around, even clam¬ 
bering over the beaver house. It was a terrible moment. 
Would they suspect where he was? Would they smash 
the house in? Would they set it on fire? Fortunately 
they did none of these things. It evidently never occurred 
to the Indians that Colter had turned beaver, and so after 
a while they scattered for further search. Colter stuck 
snugly to his hiding place, and very wisely so, for in about 
two hours he heard the Indians again. Again they with¬ 
drew and Colter heard nothing more of them. He remained 
under cover until dark when, beaver-like, he ventured 
forth, and if any Indians had been about they might have 
thought that he was a heaver gliding noiselessly through 


JOHN COLTER 


29 


the water. Swimming ashore, he paused to get his bearings, 
saw the low mountain pass far to the eastward where his 
only hope lay, and started off in that direction. He did 
not take the easy way through the pass for fear the Indians 
might be there, but scaled the almost perpendicular moun¬ 
tain wall on one side. There was snow on the mountains 
and this was another peril. Without food, without shelter, 
without weapons except the captured spear head, with his 
feet torn and bleeding from his long race over ground 
covered with sharp stones and the prickly pear, and now 
away up in the snow of the mountains, it certainly seemed 
as if no human being could survive such dangers. But 
physical endurance is a wonderful thing, and Colter found 
strength to keep on. Day and night for eleven days,* with 
only a snatch of rest and a bite of food now and then, he 
held his way over the mountain, down into the valley of 
the Yellowstone and down that stream to Lisa’s fort. The 
men at the fort did not recognize him at first and doubt¬ 
less would not have believed his story if his terrible plight 
had not been proof of its truth. 

An experience like this would seem to have been enough 
to satisfy even Colter’s daring spirit, but so little did it 
deter him that we find him the following winter attempt¬ 
ing to go back to the scene of his adventure and for no 
weightier reason than to recover his beaver traps. He cal¬ 
culated that the Indians would by this time have gone into 
winter quarters and that he could make the journey in 
safety. Not so, however. He had crossed the divide be¬ 
tween the Yellowstone and the Gallatin Rivers and had 
gone into camp, apparently on the banks of the latter 
stream, had built his fire, and was in the act of cooking 
some meat, when a rustle of the bushes and the sudden 
whizzing of bullets around him effectually disabused his 
mind of the notion that there was safety in the country 

* Bradbury has it seven days, which would have meant about 
thirty miles a day, no very unusual rate of travel on foot under 
favorable circumstances. 



30 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of the Blackfeet at any time of the year. Instantly plung¬ 
ing into the darkness, he eluded his assailants, and instead 
of trying further to recover his traps, he started on another 
perilous and lonely journey over his former route to Lisa’s 
Fort. 

While lying in hiding during the day after this attack, 
Colter vowed that, if the Almighty would allow him to 
escape once more, he would never return to that region. 
But how quickly are dangers, once past, forgotten! A 
winter at Fort Lisa found him ready next spring to join 
the large party of Missouri Fur Company hunters which 
was on its way under Pierre Menard and Andrew Henry, 
two of the partners, to build a trading post at the Three 
Forks; and in due time our redoubtable adventurer was 
again on the scene of his former miraculous escape. It 
was only a short time after the arrival of the party at the 
Three Forks and the selection of a site for the fort, that 
the Blackfeet made such a furious and successful attack 
as to break up the plan of operations for the summer. 
Some of the ablest hunters were killed, and Colter himself 
had a narrow escape. Again he promised his Maker that 
if given another chance, he would quit the country forever; 
and this time he was good as his word. An opportunity 
presented itself a few days later, when it became necessary 
to send dispatches to St. Louis. Pierre Menard wrote a 
four-page letter in French to his brother-in-law, Pierre 
Chouteau, narrating the unfortunate turn in the affairs 
of the company. This letter, which is now in the possession 
of the author of this book, Was forwarded “ through the 
kindness of Mr. William Bryant ”—undoubtedly the same 
as the “ young Bryant of Philadelphia ” whom James men¬ 
tions as Colter’s companion when the latter left for St. 
Louis. Thus Colter became escort on a three-thousand- 
mile journey of one of the most interesting original docu¬ 
ments ever penned in that country.* 

* The discovery quite recently, by Judge Walter M. Douglas, of 
St. Louis, of the almost “ unique ” journal of General Thomas 



JOHN COLTER 


31 


After his return to St. Louis Colter evidently talked a 
great deal about his adventures, and in spite of the fact 
that such men as General Clark and the authors we have 
mentioned esteemed his accounts worthy of record, he 
succeeded in making himself rated by the general public 
as an unmitigated prevaricator. His stories were generally 
discredited; their author became a subject of jest and 
ridicule, and the region of his reputed discoveries was long 
derisively known as “ Colter’s Hell.” * * 

Colter married upon his return from the mountains and 
retired to a farm on the banks of the Missouri, a short 
distance above the mouth of the little tributary, La 
Charette. Here Bradbury spent the forenoon of March 18, 
1811, with him while en route up the river with the 
Astorian Expedition. Naturally Colter gave him some sage 
counsel about the Blackfeet. As he saw the well- 
appointed expedition setting out for the mountains the old 
fever came upon him again and he was upon the point 
of joining the party. But what the perils of the wilderness 
or the pleasures of civilization could not restrain him from 
doing, the attractions of a newly married wife seem to 
have accomplished. Colter remained behind; and here the 
curtain of oblivion falls upon the discoverer of the Yel¬ 
lowstone. We only know that in running away from his 
savage foes he soon fell victim of that dread enemy from 
whom no one escapes. James records that “a few years 
after ” his own return he heard of Colter’s death. In the 
Louisiana Gazette , St. Louis, December 11, 1813, there ap¬ 
peared a notice by the administrator of the estate of “ John 

James makes possible the correction of the author’s erroneous in¬ 
ference (p. 26, “The Yellowstone,” 2nd edition, and p. 722, 
“ American Fur Trade ”) that Colter left the upper country before 
the disaster above referred to. 

* This name early came to be restricted to the locality where 
Colter discovered the tar spring on the Shoshone, probably be¬ 
cause few trappers ever saw the other similar localities visited by 
him. But Colter’s descriptions, so well summed up by Irving in 
his “ Captain Bonneville,” undoubtedly refer in large part to what 
he saw in the Yellowstone and Snake River Valleys. 



32 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

Coulter, deceased,” calling for a settlement of all claims 
for or against the estate. The final settlement left a 
balance in favor of the estate of $229.41}. The deceased 
was probably the same as the subject of this sketch.* 

* So remarkable was Colter’s adventure with the Blackfeet, and 
so strong is the temptation to class it as a mere Munchausen 
tale, that the author has taken some pains to determine the 
physical possibility of its occurrence. He finds: 

(1) That the topography of the country between the Jefferson 
and Madison Rivers near their confluence does admit of a race 
course at least six miles in length in a straight line from one 
stream to the other over perfectly flat and almost level ground. 
The tract is now crossed by the Northern Pacific and Milwaukee 
railways. The line of flight must have been nearly east some 
distance south of, but in full view from, the site of the modern 
railway station of Three Forks. 

(2) That the situation on the Madison was such as to have 
favored Colter’s escape admirably. The river here flows in two 
main channels and (at high water) in several subsidiary ones, all 
lined with trees and brushwood, making a belt of timber a mile or 
more wide, everywhere interspersed with thickets of dense under¬ 
growth. Once inside this screen it would be possible to take an 
irregular course which, with the aid of the numerous channels and 
bayous to be crossed, would quickly throw a pursuer off the track. 

(3) That beaver houses in such a situation must have been 
very numerous in those days. “ Billy ” Hofer (see biographical 
sketch, p. 340), who was once employed by the Smithsonian In¬ 
stitution to secure for it a considerable number of live beavers, 
made an exhaustive study of the domiciliary habits of this inter¬ 
esting animal. He informs the author that the houses of beavers 
built on the banks of streams which, like this, are too wide to dam 
across are commonly of sufficient capacity to admit a man with 
ease, and that an experienced beaver hunter would know how to 
get into them. As between the heaver house theory (James) and 
the drift-wood theory (Bradbury) the first would be more prob¬ 
ably correct. 

(4) Athletic contests and many other proofs show that a con¬ 
tinuous flight of six miles is well within the range of physical 
endurance, particularly of a strong man in the prime of life 
thoroughly seasoned by hard training as Colter was at the time. 
Moreover, due allowance must be made for the probability that 
Colter did not underestimate the distance. It should also be 
kept in mind that physical exhaustion worked on pursuers quite as 
effectively as on pursued. 



CHAPTER V 


EARLY KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 

O N the west bank of the Yellowstone River, a quarter 
of a mile above the Upper Falls, in a ravine now 
crossed by a high bridge, there was discovered in 1880, by 
Colonel P. W. Norris, then Superintendent of the Park, 
an inscription on a tree giving the initials of a name and 
the date when inscribed. Colonel Norris partially verified 
the date by counting the annual rings on another tree 
near by, which bore hatchet marks, presumably of the 
same date. The time that had elapsed since these cuts 
were made corresponded well with the inscribed date. The 
inscription was: 


J 0 R 

Aug 19 1819 

Efforts have been made to trace this inscription to some 
of the early noted trappers, but the attempt can hardly 
succeed. Even if an identity of initials were established, 
the identity of individuals would still remain in doubt. 
Nothing short of some authentic record of such a visit 
as must have taken place can satisfy the requirements. 
In the absence of any such record, the most that can be 
said is that the inscription is proof that the Park country 
was visited by white men, after Colter’s time, fully fifty 
years before its final discovery. 

Colonel Norris’ researches disclosed other similar evi¬ 
dence, although in no other instance with so plain a clew as 
to date. Near Beaver Lake and Obsidian Cliff, he found, 
in 1878, a cache of marten traps of an old pattern used 

38 


34 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


by the Hudson’s Bay Company trappers fifty years before. 
He also examined the ruins of a blockhouse discovered by 
Frederick Bottler at the base of Mt. Washburn, near the 
Grand Canyon. Its decayed condition indicated great age. 
In other places the stumps of trees, old logs used to cross 
streams, and numerous similar proofs were brought to 
light by that inveterate ranger of the wilderness. 

The Washburn party, in 1870, discovered on the east 
bank of the Yellowstone, just above Mud Geyser, the 
remains of a pit, probably once used for concealment in 
shooting water fowl. 

A book called “ The River of the West,” * published in 
1871, but copyrighted in 1869, before the publication of 
any modern account of the geyser regions, contains the 
record of an adventure in the Yellowstone country about 
the year 1829. It is the biography of one Joseph Meek, 
a trapper and pioneer of considerable note. The adven¬ 
ture to which reference is made was the result of a de¬ 
cision by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company to retire 
from competition with the Hudson’s Bay Company in the 
Snake River Valley. In leaving the country Captain 
William L. Sublette, the chief partner, led his party up 
Henry Fork, across the Continental Divide to the valleys 
of the Madison and Gallatin and thence to the high ridge 
overlooking the Yellowstone, at some point near the present 
Cinnabar Mountain. Here the party was dispersed by a 
band of Blackfeet, and Meek, one of its members, became 
separated from the rest. He had lost his horse and most 
of his equipment, and in this condition he wandered for 
several days, without food or shelter, until found by two 
of his companions. His route lay in a southerly direction, 
to the eastward of the Yellowstone, at some distance back 
from the river. On the morning of the fifth day he had 
the following experience: 

“ Being desirous to learn something of the progress he 

* By Mrs. Frances Fuller Victor, an eminent authority upon 
the history of the Northwest coast. 



KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 35 


had made, he ascended a low mountain in the neighbor¬ 
hood of his camp, and behold! the whole country beyond 
was smoking with vapor from boiling springs, and burning 
with gases issuing from small craters, each of which was 
emitting a sharp, whistling sound. When the first sur¬ 
prise of this astonishing scene had passed, Joe began to 
admire its effect from an artistic point of view. The 
morning being clear, with a sharp frost, he thought him¬ 
self reminded of the city of Pittsburg, as he had beheld it 
on a winter morning, a couple of years before. This, how¬ 
ever, related only to the rising smoke and vapor; for the 
extent of the volcanic region was immense, reaching far 
out of sight. The general face of the country was smooth 
and rolling, being a level plain, dotted with cone-shaped 
mounds. On the summit of these mounds were small 
craters from four to eight feet in diameter. Interspersed 
among these on the level plain were larger craters, some 
of them from four to six miles across. Out of these craters 
issued blue flames and molten brimstone.” * 

Making some allowance for exaggeration, we recognize 
in this description the familiar picture of the hot springs 
districts. The precise location is difficult to determine; but 
Meek's previous wanderings, and the subsequent route of 
himself and his companions whom he met here, indicate 
that it was one of the numerous districts east of the 
Yellowstone, which were then more active than now. 

This book affords "much other evidence of early knowl¬ 
edge of the country immediately bordering the present 
Park. The Great Bend of the Yellowstone where Living¬ 
ston now stands, was a rendezvous of the hunters, and the 
Gardiner and Firehole Rivers were well known to them. 

In the Louisiana Gazette, of St. Louis, February 28, 
1811, is an article upon Louisiana from the pen of a then 
popular writer, Henry M. Brackenridge. In it occurs a 
reference to this region which no doubt originated with 


Page 75, “ River of the West. : 



36 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

John Colter: “ I think it probable that, on a close exam¬ 
ination of the country, evident traces of extinguished vol¬ 
canoes will be discovered. Mr. Lisa informs me that about 
sixty miles from his fort [at the mouth of the Big Horn] 
there is a volcano that actually emits flames. In this tract 
immense quantities of sulphur can be procured. It is not 
only found in caves, but can be scraped off the prairie in 
the manner of salt.” This is only one of a number of 
references from early writings that indicate the presence 
of volcanic activity on a moribund scale in the Rocky 
Mountains as late as the beginning of the Nineteenth 
Century. 

Among the employees of the American Fur Company in 
the decade from 1830 to 1840 was one Warren Angus 
Ferris, clerk, to whom belongs the honor of having written 
the first actual description of the Firehole Geyser Basins. 
Ferris was attached to the mountain expeditions of the 
American Fur Company, and in the course of his five 
years’ service (1831-35) saw pretty nearly all the country 
around the Yellowstone Park. He had heard rumors of 
the strange phenomena which are now so well known, and 
in the spring of 1834, while returning south from the 
Flathead country, where he had spent the winter, he made 
a visit to the geyser basins for the purpose of verifying 
these reports. He started from a point near where Beaver 
Canyon Station, on the Utah Northern Railroad, now 
stands, and traveled almost west. He was among the 
geysers on the 20th of May, 1834. In spite of some dis¬ 
crepancies in his account, it is reasonably certain that the 
point visited was the Upper Basin. Following is his nar¬ 
rative of the visit: * 

* Ferris followed the practice of keeping a journal, and after 
his return from the mountains published it in the Western Liter¬ 
ary Messenger, of Buffalo, N. Y. The article quoted below was 
republished in the Wasp, of Nauvoo, Ill., a Mormon paper, August 
13, 1842, and later became well known. Where it came from, or 
who its author was, no one in recent years knew until in the fall 
of 1900 the series of articles in the Literary Messenger was dis- 



KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 37 


“ I had heard in the summer of 1833, while at rendez¬ 
vous, that remarkable boiling springs had been discovered 
on the sources of the Madison by a party of trappers on 
their spring hunt; of which the accounts they gave were 
so very astonishing that I determined to examine them 
myself before recording their description, though I had 
the united testimony of more than twenty men on the 
subject, who all declared they saw them, and that they 
really were as extensive and remarkable as they had been 
described. Having now an opportunity of paying them a 
visit, and as another or a better might not occur, I parted 
with the company after supper, and taking with me two 
Pend d’Oreilles (who were induced to take the excursion 
with me by the promise of an extra present) set out at a 
round pace, the night being clear and comfortable. We 
proceeded over the plain about twenty miles, and halted 
until daylight on a fine spring flowing into Camas Creek. 
Eefreshed by a few hours* sleep, we started again after a 
hasty breakfast, and entered a very extensive forest called 
the Pine Woods (a continued succession of low mountains 
or hills, entirely covered with a dense growth of this species 
of timber), which we passed through and reached the 
vicinity of the springs about dark, having seen several 
lakes or ponds on the sources of the Madison, and rode 
about forty miles; which was a hard day’s ride, taking into 
consideration the rough irregularity of the country through 
which we traveled. 

“ We regaled ourselves with a cup of coffee, the materials 
for making which we had brought with us, and immediately 
after supper lay down to rest sleepy and much fatigued. 
The continual roaring of the springs, however (which 
was distinctly heard), for some time prevented my going to 
sleep, and excited an impatient curiosity to examine them, 
which I was obliged to defer the gratification of until 

covered by Mr. O. D. Wheeler, of St. Paul. Ferris was born at 
Glens Fails, N. Y., December 20, 1810; and died at Reinhardt, 
Tex., February 8, 1873. 



38 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


morning, and filled my slumbers with visions of waterspouts, 
cataracts, fountains, jets d’eau of immense dimensions, etc., 
etc. 

“ When I arose in the morning, clouds of vapor seemed 
like a dense fog to overhang the springs, from which 
frequent reports or explosions of different loudness con¬ 
stantly assailed our ears. I immediately proceeded to 
inspect them, and might have exclaimed with the Queen of 
Sheba, when their full reality of dimensions and novelty 
burst upon my view, ‘ the half was not told me.’ 

“ From the surface of a rocky plain or table, burst forth 
columns of water of various dimensions, projecting high 
in the air, accompanied by loud explosions and sulphurous 
vapors which were highly disagreeable to the smell. The 
rock from which these springs burst forth was calcareous, 
and probably extended some distance from them beneath 
the soil. The largest of these beautiful fountains projects 
a column of boiling water several feet in diameter, to the 
height of more than one hundred and fifty feet, in my 
opinion; but the party of Alvarez,* who discovered it per¬ 
sist in declaring that it could not be less than four times 
that distance in height—accompanied with a tremendous 
noise. These explosions and discharges occur at intervals 
of about two hours. After having witnessed three of them, 
I ventured near enough to put my hand into the waters of 
its basin, but withdrew it instantly, for the heat of the 
water in this immense caldron was altogether too great 
for my comfort; and the agitation of the water, the dis¬ 
agreeable effluvium continually exuding, and the hollow, 
unearthly rumbling under the rock on which I stood, so 
ill accorded with my notions of personal safety, that I 
retreated back precipitately to a respectful distance. The 
Indians, who were with me, were quite appalled and could 
not by any means be induced to approach therm They 
seemed astonished at my presumption in advancing up to 


* An American Fur Company clerk. 



KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 39 


the large one, and when I safely returned congratulated 
me upon my ‘ narrow” escape/ They believed them to be 
supernatural and supposed them to be the production of 
the Evil Spirit. One of them remarked that hell, of 
which he had heard from the whites, must be in that 
vicinity. The diameter of the basin into which the waters 
of the largest jet principally fall, and from the center of 
which, through a hole in the rock, of about nine or ten 
feet in diameter, the water spouts up as above related, may 
be about thirty feet. There are many other smaller foun¬ 
tains that did not throw their waters up so high, but oc¬ 
curred at shorter intervals. In some instances the volumes 
were projected obliquely upward, and fell into the neigh¬ 
boring fountains, or on the rock or prairie. But their 
ascent was generally perpendicular, falling in and about 
their own basins or apertures. 

“ These wonderful productions of nature are situated 
near the center of a small valley, surrounded by pine- 
covered hills through which a small fork of the Madison 
flows.” 

Here we have a description free from exaggeration and 
reasonably true to the facts. No one who has seen the 
Upper Geyser Basin will question its general correctness. 
The writer goes on to relate what he has learned from 
others, but here exaggeration creeps in and this part of 
his narrative is less reliable. It continues: 

“ From several trappers who had recently returned from 
the Yellow Stone, I received an account of boiling springs 
that differ from those seen on Salt Biver only in magni¬ 
tude, being on a vastly larger scale; some of their cones 
are from twenty to thirty feet high and forty to fifty paces 
in circumference. Those which have ceased to emit boil¬ 
ing water, vapor, etc., of which there were several, are 
full of shelving cavities, even some fathoms in extent, 
which give them, inside, an appearance of honey-comb. 
The ground for several acres’ extent in vicinity of the 
springs is evidently hollow, and constantly exhales a hot 


40 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


steam or vapor of disagreeable odor, and a character en¬ 
tirely to prevent vegetation. They are situated in the 
valley at the head of that river near the lake, which con¬ 
stitutes its source. 

“ A short distance from these springs, near the margin 
of the lake, there is one quite different from any yet de¬ 
scribed. It is of a circular form, several feet in diameter, 
clear, cold, and pure; the bottom appears visible to the eye, 
and seems seven or eight feet below the surface of the 
earth or water, without meeting any resistance. What is 
most singular with respect to this fountain is the fact that 
at regular intervals of about two minutes, a body or column 
of water bursts up to the height of eight feet, with an 
explosion as loud as the report of a musket, and then falls 
back into it; for a few seconds the water is roily, but it 
speedily settles and becomes transparent as before the effu¬ 
sion. A slight tremulous motion of the water, and a low 
rumbling sound from the caverns beneath, precede each 
explosion. This spring was believed to be connected with 
the lake by some subterranean passage, but the cause of 
its periodical eruptions or discharges, is entirely unknown. 
I have never before heard of a cold spring, whose waters 
exhibit the phenomena of periodical explosive propulsion 
in form of a jet. The geysers of Iceland, and the various 
other European springs, the waters of which are projected 
upwards with violence and uniformity, as well as those 
seen on the headwaters of the Madison, are invariably 
hot.” 

The whole article forms the most interesting and 
authentic reference to the geyser regions published prior 
to 1870. It proves beyond question that a knowledge of 
this region existed among the early trappers, and confirms 
our previous deduction that the wide range of the fur 
business could not have left it unexplored. 

A brief but interesting reference to this region is found 
in a letter by Father De Smet, dated at the University of 
St. Louis, January 20, 1852, describing a journey made by 


KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 41 


him in 1851 from Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellow¬ 
stone, to Fort Laramie, on the Platte: 

“ Near the source of the River Puante [Stinking Water, 
now called Shoshone], which empties into the Big Horn, 
and the sulphurous waters of which have probably the 
same medicinal qualities as the celebrated Blue Lick 
Springs of Kentucky, is a place called Colter's Hell — 
from a beaver-hunter of that name. This locality is often 
agitated with subterranean fires. The sulphurous gases 
which escape in great volumes from the burning soil infect 
the atmosphere for several miles, and render the earth so 
barren that even the wild wormwood cannot grow on it. 
The beaver-hunters have assured me that the underground 
noises and explosions are often frightful. 

“ However, I think that the most extraordinary spot in 
this respect, and perhaps the most marvelous of all the 
northern half of this continent, is in the very heart of the 
Rocky Mountains, between the 43d and 45th degrees of 
latitude, and the 109th and 111th degrees of longitude; 
that is, between the sources of the Madison and the Yel¬ 
lowstone. It reaches more than a hundred miles. 
Bituminous, sulphurous, and boiling springs are very num¬ 
erous in it. The hot springs contain a large quantity of 
calcareous matter, and form hills more or less elevated, 
which resemble in their nature, perhaps, if not in their 
extent, the famous springs of Pemboukkalesi, in Asia 
Minor, so well described by Chandler. The earth is thrown 
up very high, and the influence of the elements causes it 
to take the most varied and the most fantastic shapes. Gas, 
vapor and smoke are continually escaping by a thousand 
openings from the base to the summit of the volcanic pile; 
the noise at times resembles the steam let off by a boat. 
Strong, subterranean explosions occur like those in ‘ Colter's 
Hell.' The hunters and the Indians speak of it with a 
superstitious fear, and consider it the abode of evil spirits, 
that is to say, a kind of hell. Indians seldom approach it 
without offering some sacrifice, or, at least, without pre- 


42 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


senting the calumet of peace to the turbulent spirits, that 
they may be propitious. They declare that the subterranean 
noises proceed from the forging of warlike weapons; each 
eruption of the earth is, in their eyes, the result of a combat 
between the infernal spirits, and becomes the monument 
of a new victory or calamity. Near Gardiner River, a 
tributary of the Yellowstone, and in the vicinity of the 
region I have just been describing, there is a mountain of 
sulphur. I have this report from Captain Bridger, who is 
familiar with every one of these mounds, having passed 
thirty years of his life near them.” 

This description is the first that defines correctly the 
geographical location of the geyser regions.* 

The most specific of these early references to the natural 
phenomena of the Upper Yellowstone is the following, 
from Gunnison’s “History of the Mormons” (1852), and 
comes directly from James Bridger: 

“ He [Bridger] gives a picture, most romantic and 
enticing, of the headwaters of the Yellowstone. A lake, 
sixty miles long, cold and pellucid, lies embosomed among 
high precipitous mountains. On the west side is a sloping 
plain, several miles wide, with clumps of trees and groves 
of pine. The ground resounds with the tread of horses. 
Geysers spout up seventy feet high, with a terrific, hissing 
noise, at regular intervals. Waterfalls are sparkling, leap¬ 
ing and thundering down the precipices, and collect in 
the pool below. The river issues from this lake, and for 
fifteen miles roars through the perpendicular canyon at the 
outlet. In this section are the ‘ Great Springs,’ so hot that 
meat is readily cooked in them, and as they descend on 
the successive terraces, afford at length delightful baths. 
On the other side is an acid spring, which gushes out in a 
river torrent; and below is a cave, which supplies ‘ Vermil¬ 
lion ’ for the savages in abundance.” 

In this summary we readily discover the Yellowstone 

* Note description of Park Country in Part II, Chapter I, of 
this work. 




Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Jupiter and Pulpit Terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs 






KNOWLEDGE OF THE YELLOWSTONE 43 


Lake, the Grand Canyon, the Falls, the geyser basins, the 
Mammoth Hot Springs, and Cinnabar Mountain. Prior to 
I860, Bridger had related these accounts to Captain War¬ 
ren, Captain Raynolds, Dr. Hayden, and others, and 
although he seems to have convinced these gentlemen that 
there was something in his stories, they still attributed less 
to fact than to fancy. 

There are numerous other interesting, though less defi¬ 
nite, references to an early knowledge of the Yellowstone; 
but those we have given show their general character. The 
important fact to remember is that this knowledge was 
barren of result. For the most part it existed only in the 
minds of illiterate men, and perished with them. It never 
took hold of the public consciousness and did not in the 
least degree hasten the final discovery. 


CHAPTER YI 


BRIDGER AND HIS STORIES 

J AMES BRIDGER, celebrated hunter, trader, and guide, 
whose name and career are part of the pioneer history 
of the West, was thoroughly familiar with the region now 
comprised in the Yellowstone Park. His personal knowl¬ 
edge of it dates back as far as 1830. He often visited it, 
not like Ferris in a single locality, but in all its parts, and 
was well acquainted with its wonderful features. In his 
efforts to disseminate the knowledge he had acquired, he 
was as persistent as Colter had been before him, and with 
little better success. He tried to get his descriptions be¬ 
fore the public, but no periodical or newspaper would lend 
itself to his service. The editor of a leading western paper 
stated in 1879 that Bridger had told him of the Yellow¬ 
stone wonders fully thirty years before. He prepared an 
article from his description and then suppressed it, “ be¬ 
cause a man who claimed to know Bridger told him he 
would be laughed out of town if he printed any of ‘old 
Jim Bridgets lies/ ” In later years this editor publicly 
apologized to Bridger for having doubted his statements. 

Certain personal characteristics of Bridger aggravated 
this lack of confidence in what he said. He was the great¬ 
est romancer of the West in his time, and his reckless 
exaggerations won for him a reputation which he could 
not shake off when he wanted to. Accordingly, the truths 
that he told about the Yellowstone were classed with his 
fairy tales of the same region, and both were set down as 
the harmless vaporings of a mind to which truth had 
long been a stranger. 

Some of the creations ascribed to him have survived to 
44 


BRIDGER AND HIS STORIES 


45 


this day. We say “ ascribed/’ for in reality they are no one 
person’s production, but are the development of many 
years and many minds. They all have a basis in fact—the 
“ soul of truth,” which a great philosopher has said “ exists 
in things erroneous.” In some cases the basis is pretty 
hard to discover, and it is easier to believe the embellished 
tale than its descent from the fact when once found. It is 
stated by an adept in this accomplishment that constant 
repetition and enlargement of his imaginary experiences 
eventually leads him to believe them true, and this may 
have been the case with Bridger himself. In any event, it 
is a fortunate thing that these stories grow and develop 
with time, gravitating always from the real to the ideal; 
and he is to be pitied who feels an unseemly anxiety for 
the basic facts or would rob them of a single increment 
which the rolling years have given them. 

The few that are recorded here may be credited to 
Bridger without exciting the envy of rival experts in the 
same line. The first relates to the celebrated Obsidian 
Cliff, a mass of black volcanic glass with which all tourists 
in the Park become familiar. Its discovery by Bridger was 
the result of one of his hunting trips, and it happened in 
this wise: 

Coming one day in sight of a magnificent elk, he took 
careful aim at the unsuspecting animal and fired. To his 
great amazement, the elk not only was not wounded, but 
seemed not even to have heard the report of the rifle. 
Bridger drew considerably nearer and gave the elk the 
benefit of his most deliberate aim; but with the same result 
as before. A third and a fourth effort met with a similar 
fate. Utterly exasperated, he seized his rifle by the barrel, 
resolved to use it as a club since it had failed as a firearm. 
Rushing madly toward the elk, he suddenly crashed into 
an immovable vertical wall which proved to be a mountain 
of perfectly transparent glass, on the farther side of which, 
still in peaceful security, the elk was quietly grazing. 
Stranger still, the mountain was not only of pure glass, 


46 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


but was a perfect telescopic lens, and, whereas, the elk 
seemed but a few hundred yards olf, it was in reality 
twenty-five miles away! 

Another of Bridgets discoveries was an ice-cold spring 
near the summit of a lofty mountain, the water from which 
flowed down over a long smooth slope, where it acquired 
such velocity that it was boiling hot when it reached the 
bottom.* 

The scientific strain in Bridger’s make-up, some proof 
of which was disclosed in the last paragraph and its foot¬ 
note, led him to devise what is probably the simplest method 
ever discovered for determining the altitude of a place 
above the level of the sea. Bridger’s method was this: At 
the point whose elevation is desired, bore down until salt 
water is reached and then measure the distance. 

As was to be expected from an intensely practical career 
like that of Bridger, his faculty of turning everything to 
some useful account was highly developed. The following 
instance is a case in point: Opposite a certain camping 
ground where he frequently stopped there arose the bald, 
flat face of a mountain, but so distant that the echo from 
any sound which originated in camp did not return for 
the space of about six hours. Bridger converted this cir¬ 
cumstance into an ideal alarm clock. Upon retiring for the 
night he would call out lustily, “Time to get up!” and 
true to his calculation, the alarm would roll back at the 

* This story, which is taken from the report of Captain W. F. 
Rajmolds, was one of Bridger’s favorites, and it is even said 
that he did not regard it as pleasantry at all, but as plain mat¬ 
ter of fact. Mr. Langford, who often heard him relate it, says 
that he generally described the stream as flowing over the 
smooth surface of a rock, and reasoned that, as two sticks 
rubbed together produce heat by friction, so the water rub¬ 
bing over the rock became hot. In proof, he cited an instance 
where the water was hot only in close proximity to the rock 
and not at the surface. Mr. Langford found a partial confirma¬ 
tion of the fact, but not of the theory, in fording the Firehole 
River in 1870. He passed over the smooth deposit of an active 
hot spring in the bed of the stream, and found that the stream 
bottom and the water in contact with it were hot. 




BRIDGER AND HIS STORIES 47 

precise hour next morning when it was necessary for the 
camp to bestir itself.* 

The origin of the name, Alum Creek, a tributary of 
the Yellowstone, was due to an accidental discovery by 
Bridger. One day he forded the creek and rode out several 
miles and back. He noticed that the return journey was 
only a small fraction of the distance going, and that his 
horse’s feet had shrunk to mere points which sank into the 
solid ground, so that the animal could scarcely hobble 
along. Seeking the cause he found it to be in the astrin¬ 
gent quality of the water, which was saturated with alum to 
such an extent that it had power to pucker distance itself.f 

To those who have visited the west shore of the Yellow¬ 
stone Lake, and know how simple a matter it is to catch 
the lake trout and cook them in the boiling pools without 
taking them from the line, the groundwork of the follow¬ 
ing description will be obvious enough. Somewhere along 
the shore an immense boiling spring discharges its overflow 
directly into the lake. The specific gravity of the water is 
less than that of the lake, owing to the expansive action 
of heat, and it floats in a stratum three or four feet thick 
upon the cold water underneath. When Bridger was in 
need of fish it was to this place that he went. Through the 
hot upper stratum he let fall his bait to the subjacent 


* If Bridger were living, he would doubtless convey to Mr. 
Emerson Hough the author’s apology for having appropriated 
this ingenious creation. 

f “ The headwaters of this stream are so strong with alum 
that one swallow is sufficient to draw one’s face into such 
shape that it is almost impossible to get it straightened out 

again for one hour or so.”—Journal of C. J. Weikert, August 

26, 1877. 

“ Driver, is it true that this water shrinks up things that get 
in it?” asked a credulous guide-book tourist as the coach was 
crossing Alum Creek. 

“True? Well I guess yes! It used to be over seven miles 

from here to the Canyon hotel, but since they began sprinkling 

the road with water from this creek the distance has shortened 
up to three miles, as you will see if you watch the mile-posts.”— 
Truthful Lies. 



48 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


habitable zone, and having hooked his victim, cooked him 
on the way out! 

In like manner the visitor to the region of petrifications 
on Specimen Ridge in the northeast corner of the Park, 
and to various points in the hot springs districts, will have 
no difficulty in discovering the base material out of which 
Bridger contrived the following picturesque yarn. Accord¬ 
ing to his account there exists in the Park country a moun¬ 
tain which was once cursed by a great medicine man of the 
Crow nation. Everything upon the mountain at the time 
of this dire event became instantly petrified and has re¬ 
mained so ever since. All forms of life are standing about 
in stone where they were suddenly caught by the petrifying 
influences, even as the inhabitants of ancient Pompeii 
were surprised by the ashes of Vesuvius. Sage brush, grass, 
prairie fowl, antelope, elk, and bears may there be seen 
as perfect as in actual life. Dashing torrents and the spray 
mist from them stand forth in arrested motion as if carved 
from rock by a sculptor’s chisel. Even flowers are bloom¬ 
ing in colors of crystal, and birds soar with wings spread 
in motionless flight, while the air floats with music and 
perfumes siliceous, and the sun and the moon shine with 
petrified light! * 

* The author feels bound to defend even Bridger’s reputation 
from any such extravaganza as the following, which is clearly 
the work of some later interpolator. According to this anonymous 
authority Bridger, one evening after a long day’s ride, was ap¬ 
proaching a familiar camping place in this region of petrifications 
but from a direction not before taken. Quite unexpectedly he 
came upon a narrow, deep, precipitous chasm which completely 
blocked his way. Exhausted as both he and his horse were with 
their long march, he was completely disheartened at this ob¬ 
stacle, to pass which might cause him several hours of strenu¬ 
ous exertion and carry him far into the night. Riding up to the 
brink to reconnoiter he found that he could not stop his horse 
which kept moving right along as if by its own momentum, out 
over the edge of the precipice, straight on at a steady gait and 
on a level line, as if supported by an invisible bridge. Almost 
before he realized it he was safe on the other side and in his 
desired camp. His utter amazement at this miracle soon abated 
when he remembered the strange character of the country he was 
in, and he concluded that this chasm was simply a place where 
the attraction of gravitation was petrified. 



CHAPTER VII 


UAYNOLDS' EXPEDITION 

O N the 13th of April, 1859, Captain W. F. Raynolds, 
of the Corps of Topographical Engineers, U. S. A., 
was ordered to explore “the region of country through 
which flow the principal tributaries of the Yellowstone 
River, and the mountains in which they, and the Gallatin 
and Madison Forks of the Missouri, have their source ” 
This was the first government expedition * directed to the 
precise locality which is now embraced in the Yellowstone 
National Park. It is interesting to us, not for what it 
accomplished—for it fortunately failed to penetrate the 
Upper Yellowstone country—but because it gives an ad¬ 
mirable resume, in the form of a report and a map, of the 
geographical knowledge of that country down to the date 
of actual discovery. 

Captain Raynolds was in the field during the two seasons 
of 1859 and 1860; but it was only in the summer of 1860 
that he directed his efforts toward the country in which we 
are particularly interested. In May of that year the expe¬ 
dition left its winter quarters at Deer Creek, Wyo., and 
marched to the junction of the Wind River and the Popo 
Agie where these streams unite under the name of Big 
Horn River. Here the party divided. One division under 
Captain Raynolds was to ascend the Wind River to its 
source and then cross to the headwaters of the Yellowstone. 
This stream they were to follow down to the Great Bend, 
and then cross over to the Three Forks of the Missouri. 

* Accompanying this expedition as geologist was Dr. F. V. 
Hayden, whose name is so intimately connected with the history 
of the Park. James Bridger was guide to the party. 

49 



50 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The other party, under Lieutenant Maynadier, was to skirt 
the east and north flanks of the Absaroka Range and to 
join the first party at the Three Forks, if possible, not 
later than July 1st. 

Captain Raynolds was charged with other instructions 
than those mentioned in his order, which must be kept in 
mind in order properly to account for the final outcome of 
the expedition. A total eclipse of the sun was to occur on 
July 18th of that year, and its line of greatest occultation 
lay north of the British boundary. It was desired that 
Captain Raynolds should be present in that locality in time 
to observe the eclipse. This condition, rather than impas¬ 
sable mountains or unmelted snows, was the chief obstacle 
to a thorough exploration of the Upper Yellowstone. 

The two parties separated May 24th. Captain Raynolds, 
according to his programme, kept up the Wind River 
valley, and with much difficulty effected a crossing by way 
of Union Pass—which he named—to the western slope of 
the mountains. He then turned north seeking a passage 
to the headwaters of the Yellowstone. When nearly oppo¬ 
site Two-Ocean Pass, he made a strenuous effort to force 
his way through, spending two days in the attempt. But 
it was still June and the snow lay deep on the mountains. 
It was a physical impossibility to get through at that point, 
and the risk of missing the eclipse forbade efforts else¬ 
where. The Captain was deeply disappointed at this result. 
He writes: 

“My fondly cherished schemes of this nature were all 
dissipated by the prospect before us; . . . and I there¬ 
fore very reluctantly decided to abandon the plan to which 
I had so steadily clung.” 

Lieutenant Maynadier wisely made no attempt to cross 
the Absaroka Range, which rose continuously on his left. 
Had he done so, the deep snow at that season would have 
rendered his efforts futile. He kept close to the flank of 
the mountains until he reached the valley of the Yellow¬ 
stone north of the Park, and then hastened to join his com- 


RAYNOLDS’ EXPEDITION 


51 


manding officer at the appointed rendezvous. He reached 
the Three Forks on the 3d day of July. 

The expedition had now completely encircled the region 
of the Upper Yellowstone. At one point Captain Raynolds 
had stood where his eye could range over all that country 
which has since become so famous; but this was the limit 
of his endeavor. The Yellowstone wonderland was spared 
the misfortune of being discovered at so early a day—a 
fact quite as fortunate as any other in its history. 

It will be interesting now to survey this region as 
known at the time of the Raynolds Expedition. Nothing 
of importance occurred to increase public knowledge of it 
until 1870, and Captain Raynolds’ Report is therefore the 
latest authentic utterance concerning it prior to the date 
of actual discovery. In this report Captain Raynolds says: 

“ Beyond these [the mountains southeast of the Park] is 
the valley of the Upper Yellowstone, which is as yet a 
terra incognita. My expedition passed entirely around, but 
could not penetrate it. . . . Although it was June, the 
immense body of snow baffled all our exertions, and we 
were compelled to content ourselves with listening to 
marvelous tales of burning plains, immense lakes, and 
boiling springs, without being able to verify these wonders. 
I know of but two men who claim to have ever visited 
this part of the Yellowstone Valley—James Bridger and 
Robert Meldrum. The narratives of both these men are 
very remarkable, and Bridger, in one of his recitals, de¬ 
scribes an immense boiling spring, that is a perfect counter¬ 
part of the geysers of Iceland. As he is uneducated, and 
had probably never heard of the existence of such natural 
wonders elsewhere, I have little doubt that he spoke of that 
which he had actually seen. . . . Bridger also insisted 
that immediately west of the point at which we made 
our final effort to penetrate this singular valley, there is a 
stream of considerable size, which divides and flows down 
either side of the water-shed, thus discharging its waters 
into both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.” 


52 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The Captain concludes this particular part of his report 
as follows: 

“ I cannot doubt, therefore, that at no very distant day, 
the mysteries of this region will be fully revealed; and, 
although small in extent, I regard the valley of the Upper 
Yellowstone as the most interesting unexplored district in 
our widely expanded country.” 

Lieutenant Maynadier also contributes a few interesting 
observations upon this region. The vast importance of 
that extensive mass of mountains, as a reservoir of waters 
for the country round about, impressed him deeply. He 
says, somewhat ostentatiously: 

“As my fancy warmed with the wealth of desolation 
before me, I found something to admire in the calm self- 
denial with which this region, content with barren magnifi¬ 
cence, gives up its water and soil to more favorable coun¬ 
tries.” 

Of the Yellowstone River he was told that it had its 
source “in a lake in the impenetrable fastnesses of the 
Rocky Mountains and that for some distance below the 
lake it flowed through a narrow gorge, up which “ no one 
has ever been able to travel.” 

But it is the map prepared by Captain Raynolds that 
tells a more interesting story even than his written report. 
It reveals at once to the eye what was known as well 
as what was unknown of the Upper Yellowstone. Extend¬ 
ing in a southeasterly and northwesterly direction, is a 
large elliptical space, within which geographical features 
are represented by dotted lines, indicating that they are 
put in by hearsay only. In the midst of a surrounding 
country, which is already mapped in much detail, there is 
a region wholly unknown to the geographer. A cordon of 
mountains encircles it, and shows the limit of official 
effort to gain a correct knowledge of it. Within this 
enchanted inclosure lies the region approximately defined 
by the 44th and 45th parallels of latitude and the 110th 
and 111th meridians of longitude, which now constitutes 


RAYNOLDS’ EXPEDITION 


53 


the Yellowstone Park. There one may catch glimpses, 
through the uncertain haze of tradition, of the geysers, 
hot springs, Lake, Falls, Grand Canyon, Mammoth Hot 
Springs, and Two-Ocean Pass. This was the net result 
of fifty years’ desultory wandering in and about and over 
this “ mystic ” region. 

Raynolds’ report was the first official recognition in any 
form of the probable existence of extensive volcanic phe¬ 
nomena in the region of the Upper Yellowstone. Had 
it been published immediately after the expedition, and 
had not public attention been totally engrossed with other 
matters of overshadowing importance, this region must 
have become fully known in the early Sixties. But within 
a month after the return of Captain Raynolds to civiliza¬ 
tion there had taken place the national election which was 
the signal for attempted armed disruption of the Union. 
A year later found every officer of the Army called to new 
fields of duty. Western exploration ceased entirely until 
1865, and was not vigorously resumed for some years 
thereafter. Captain Raynolds’ report did not appear until 
1868, although his map was published several years earlier 
in order to meet a demand for it by the new settlers in 
Western Montana. Nothing transpired in the meantime 
to make the general public familiar with this region, and 
the picture here given is therefore substantially correct 
down to the date of the celebrated Washburn expedition. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE GOLD-SEEKER 


IONG the most fascinating pages of American history 



are those which recount the annals of the discoveries 


of gold and silver. No one can appreciate the magnitude of 
those various movements by a simple perusal of statistics 
of the mineral wealth which they disclosed. He must pass 
through the mining belts and note how almost every rod of 
ground, over vast tracts of country, is filled with prospect 
holes that attest the miner’s former presence. If the 
trapper carried the tools of his trade to haunts remote and 
inaccessible, the miner, with his pick and shovel, certainly 
outdid him. One can readily understand that, as soon as 
such a movement should be directed toward the region of 
the Upper Yellowstone, the wonders of that region would 
speedily be revealed. 

The presence of gold in the mountains of Montana was 
first noticed as far back as 1852. Later, in 1858, the 
Stuart brothers, James and Granville, founders of Montana, 
discovered gold in the Deer Lodge Valley; but they were 
destitute of equipments, and so constantly exposed to the 
hostility of the Blackfeet, that they went to Fort Bridger 
in the southwest corner of Wyoming, and did not return 
until late in 1860. 

It was in 1860 and 1861 that the rich mines on the 
Salmon and Boise Rivers were discovered. In 1862 the 
tide of discovery swept across the mountains into Montana. 
The deposits on Pioneer Creek, the Big Prickly Pear, the 
Big Hole River, North Boulder Creek, and at Bannock, and 
other points, became known. Although there were scarcely 
a thousand people in Montana in the winter of 1862-3, the 


54 


THE GOLD-SEEKER 


55 


news of the great discoveries marshaled a host of immi¬ 
grants ready to enter the territory in the following spring. 
These were largely re-enforced by adventurers from both 
the Northern and Southern States, who sought in these 
remote regions exemption from the tributes and levies of 
war. The immigrants were welcomed in the spring of 
1863 by the news of the discovery of Alder Gulch, the 
richest of all gold placers. The work of prospecting, al¬ 
ready being pushed with vigor, was stimulated to an extraor¬ 
dinary degree by this magnificent discovery. Prospecting 
parties scoured the country in all directions, often with loss 
of life from the Indians, but rarely, after the first two or 
three years, with any substantial success. Some of these 
expeditions have a particular connection with our narrative 
because they passed across portions of what is now the 
Yellowstone Park. 

The most important of them occurred in August and 
September, 1863. It was led by Walter W. DeLacy, an 
engineer and surveyor of some distinction in the early 
history of Montana. The party at one time numbered 
forty-two men, although this number did not continue 
constant throughout the expedition. Its sole object was 
to “prospect” the country. Evidently nothing in the 
line of topographical reconnaissance was thought of, for 
Captain DeLacy says “there was not a telescope, and 
hardly a watch, in the whole party.” 

The expedition left Virginia City, August 3d; passed 
south into Idaho until it struck the Snake River, and 
then ascended that stream to the region about Jackson 
Lake. Near the mouth of Buffalo Fork a halt was made, a 
corral was built to hold the stock, and a miners’ meeting 
held, at which rules were adopted to govern the miners 
in the contemplated examination of the country. The party 
then broke up into small groups and set out in different 
directions so as to cover as much ground as possible. The 
last four days of August were spent in this search, but with 
failure in every direction. This discouragement led to the 


56 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


abandonment of the expedition. Fifteen men set out for 
home by the way they had come, while DeLacy and twenty- 
seven men resolved to reach the Madison River and the 
settlements by going north. A day later this party entered 
the territory which is now the Yellowstone Park. 

The route lay up the Snake River to its junction with 
Lewis River, where the hot springs of that locality were 
discovered. Here another separation occurred. About half 
the party went back down the river to re-examine a locality 
where they thought they had found some fair prospects. 
They soon returned, however, unsuccessful. The main 
party under DeLacy ascended the hills to the west of the 
river to seek a more practicable route. They soon reached 
the summit of the plateau where they discovered what 
are now Herring and Beula Lakes, and noted their 
divergent drainage. Thence they passed north over Pitch- 
stone Plateau until they struck the valley of Moose Creek. 
They descended this stream for a few miles and came to a 
large lake, which they supposed to be tributary to either 
the Madison or the Yellowstone River. To their great 
surprise they found, upon rounding its southern point, 
that it drained south into the Snake. This is what is now 
called Shoshone Lake. 

From the outlet of the lake, DeLacy sent a man down 
stream to examine the river. This reconnaissance resulted 
in the discovery of Lewis Lake and the hot springs basin 
there. When DeLacy resumed his route, he followed along 
the east shore of the lake to its northern extremity, and 
then ascended the beautiful open valley of DeLacy Creek. 
He crossed the Continental Divide at the head of the valley, 
and camped on the evening of September 8th some miles 
beyond the Divide toward the Firehole River. The next 
morning, September 9, 1863, he came upon the consider¬ 
able stream of hot water which flows down a mountain 
ravine into the Lower Geyser Basin close by the Great 
Fountain Geyser. The reader will learn with some amaze¬ 
ment that the party thought little enough of this wonder- 


THE GOLD-SEEKER 


57 


ful locality to pass directly through it without halt or per¬ 
ceptible delay. Before the camping hour of the afternoon 
had arrived, they were many miles away at the junction of 
the Gibbon and Firehole Rivers. 

The other section of the party, which had gone down the 
Snake from its junction with Lewis River, soon returned, 
followed up the river to Lewis and Shoshone Lakes, passed 
around the western end of the latter lake, discovering its 
extensive geyser basin, and thence crossed over to the 
Madison. This stream they descended through the geyser 
basins, and followed the main party to the settlements. 

DeLacy might have passed into history as the real dis¬ 
coverer of the Yellowstone wonderland, but for the fact 
that he failed to appreciate the true importance of what 
he saw. In that, however, he was no exception to the gen¬ 
eral rule of immigrants. The search for gold with them 
so far overshadowed all other matters, that it would have 
required something more than geysers to divert them, even 
momentarily, from its prosecution. Although DeLacy kept 
a daily journal of his expedition, and noted therein the 
various items of interest along his route, he did not publish 
it until 1876, long after public interest had been strongly 
attracted to the geyser regions. He did, however, publish 
a map of the country through which he passed, and on this 
map he correctly noted the drainage of Shoshone Lake— 
something which the Folsom, Washburn, and Hayden expe¬ 
ditions all failed to do. He also noted the various hot 
springs localities through which the party passed. In a 
letter published in Raymond’s “ Mineral Resources of the 
States and Territories West of the Rocky Mountains,” in 
1869, before the date of the Washburn expedition, he called 
attention to the existence of geysers at the head of Shoshone 
Lake and on the Madison River. 

DeLacy’s account, as finally published, is an interesting 
early view of this region, and is remarkable for its general 
correctness. That he failed to publish his discoveries must 
be regarded as fortunate, so far as the Park is concerned. 


58 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

for the time had not yet come when it was desirable that 
the real character of this country should be made known. 

From 1863 to 1869 there were many other prospecting 
parties in the region of the Upper Yellowstone. In 1863 
one of these, numbering thirty or forty men, ascended the 
Yellowstone and the East Fork to the mouth of Soda Butte 
Creek, and thence across an intervening ridge to the next 
northern tributary of the East Fork. Here all their horses 
were stolen by Indians. There were left only one or two 
mules, on which was packed all the baggage they could 
carry, the rest being concealed in a cache. The party then 
separated into two portions, and prospected the country for 
several days in the vicinity of Clark’s Fork. They finally 
returned, emptied the cache, and descended to the Yellow¬ 
stone, where they found fair prospects near the present 
north boundary of the Park. The expedition has no 
permanent interest for this narrative, except that it left 
the two geographical names, “ Cache Creek ” and “ Bear 
Gulch.” 

In 1864, a party of seventy-three men, under James 
Stuart, passed from Deer Lodge, Montana, to the Yellow¬ 
stone Valley, and thence around the east base of the Ab- 
saroka Range into the valley of the Shoshone River. The 
object of this expedition was to punish the Indians for 
outrages of the previous year, and also to prospect the 
country for gold. At the Shoshone Stuart was compelled 
to return home. The party then separated into groups 
that gradually worked their way back to the Montana 
settlements. One of these small parties went as far south 
as the Sweetwater River, then crossed to the Green and 
Snake Rivers, and recrossed the Continental Divide at 
Two-Ocean Pass. They descended the Yellowstone, passed 
the Lake and Grand Canyon, and beyond the present limits 
of the Park. Norris found remnants of their camp debris 
seventeen years afterward. 

In 1866, a party under one George Huston left Vir¬ 
ginia City, Montana, and ascended the Madison River to 


THE GOLD-SEEKER 


59 


the geyser basins. Thence they crossed to the Yellowstone 
at Mud Geyser, ascended the river to the lake, passed com¬ 
pletely around the latter, discovering Heart Lake on their 
way, and then descended the Yellowstone by the Falls and 
Canyon, to Emigrant Gulch. Here they were interviewed 
by a newspaper reporter, and an account of their travels 
was published in the Omaha Herald, They had seen about 
all there was to be seen in the whole region. 

At least two parties traversed the Park country in 1867. 
One of these gave names to Crevice, Hell-roaring, and 
Slough Creeks. An account of the wanderings of the other 
party appeared in the Montana Post of that year. 

Many other parties and individuals passed through this 
region during the Montana mining craze. Their accounts 
appeared now and then in the local papers, and were re¬ 
printed throughout the country. By 1869, probably very 
few of the reading public had not heard rumors of a 
strange volcanic region in the Far West. In Montana, par¬ 
ticularly, repeated confirmation of the old trappers’ tales 
was gradually arousing a deep interest, and the time was 
close at hand when explorations for the specific purpose 
of verifying these rumors were to begin. 


CHAPTER IX 


DISCOVERY 

T HE discovery of the Yellowstone Wonderland—by 
which is here meant its full and final disclosure to the 
world—was the work of three parties who visited and 
explored it in the years 1869, 1870, and 1871, respectively. 
The first of these expeditions was purely a private enter¬ 
prise. It consisted of three men, and was the first party 
to enter this country with the express purpose of verifying 
or refuting the floating rumors concerning it. The second 
expedition was of a mixed character, having semi-official 
sanction, but being organized and recruited by private 
individuals. This was the famous “ Yellowstone Expedi¬ 
tion of 1870 ”—the great starting point in the post-tradi¬ 
tional history of the Park. The third expedition was 
strictly official, under the military and scientific depart¬ 
ments of the government. It was a direct result of the 
explorations of 1870, and was intended to satisfy the pub¬ 
lic demand for accurate and official information concern¬ 
ing this new region of wonders. It was the final and 
necessary step in order that the government might act 
intelligently and promptly for the preservation of what 
was believed to be the most interesting collection of natural 
wonders to be found in the world. 

THE EXPEDITION OF 1869 

The question of setting definitely at rest the constantly 
multiplying rumors of wonderful volcanic phenomena 
around the sources of the Yellowstone, began to be seri¬ 
ously agitated among the people of Montana as early as 


DISCOVERY 


61 


1867. An expedition was planned for that year, but came 
to nothing. A like result attended a similar effort the fol¬ 
lowing year. In 1869, the proposition came near material¬ 
izing, but fell through at the last moment, owing to the 
failure to obtain a military escort. There were three mem¬ 
bers of this proposed expedition, however, who refused to 
be frightened off by any dangers which the situation at 
that time promised. They had already provided them¬ 
selves with an elaborate equipment, and were determined, 
with escort or without it, to undertake the trip. The 
names of these men were David E. Folsom, C. W. Cook, 
and William Peterson, the last named being a native of 
Denmark. Armed with “ repeating rifles, Colt’s six-shoot¬ 
ers, and sheath-knives,” with a “ double-barreled shot gun 
for small game; ” and equipped with a “ good field-glass, 
pocket compass, and thermometer,” and utensils and provi¬ 
sions “for a six weeks’ trip,” they set out from Diamond 
City on the Missouri River, forty miles from Helena, Sep¬ 
tember 6, 1869. 

The route lay up the Missouri to the Three Forks; thence 
via Bozeman and Fort Ellis to the Yellowstone River; 
and thence up the Yellowstone to its 1 junction with the East 
Fork inside the present limits of the Park. From this 
point they crossed to the east bank and followed up the 
river, passing through the many groups of hot springs to 
be found east of the Grand Canyon. On September 21st, 
they arrived at the Falls of the Yellowstone, where they 
remained an entire day. Some distance above the rapids 
they recrossed to the west shore and then ascended the 
river past Sulphur Mountain and Mud Volcano to Yellow¬ 
stone Lake. They then went to the extreme west shore 
of the lake and spent some time examining the surpass¬ 
ingly beautiful springs at that point. Thence they crossed 
the mountains to Shoshone Lake, which they took to be 
the head of the Madison, and from that point struck out 
to the northwest over a toilsome country until they reached 
the Lower Geyser Basin near Nez Perce Creek. Here they 


62 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


saw the Fountain Geyser in action and the many other 
phenomena in that locality. They ascended the Firehole 
River to Excelsior Geyser and Prismatic Lake, and then 
turned down the river on their way home. They were 
absent on the expedition thirty-six days. 

It is said that these explorers were so astonished at the 
marvels they had seen that “they were, on their return, 
unwilling to risk their reputations for veracity by a full 
recital of them to a small company whom their friends had 
assembled to hear the account of their explorations.” But 
Mr. Folsom later prepared a most entertaining narrative 
of his journey which was published in the Western Monthly 
of Chicago, in July, 1870.* It is among the best popular 
descriptions extant of that portion of the Park country 
along the route followed. The article, and personal inter¬ 
views with the author and his companions, had a strong 
influence in leading to the important expedition next to 
be described. 


THE EXPEDITION- OF 1870 

The Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, more commonly 
known as the Washburn-Doane Expedition, was the culmi¬ 
nation of the project of discovery to which frequent refer¬ 
ence has already been made. At this time the subject 
was exciting a profound interest throughout Montana, and 
the leading citizens of the territory were active in organ¬ 
izing a grand expedition. General Sheridan, who passed 
through Helena just prior to his departure for the scene 

* It is only through the lifelong lo 3 ^alty of Mr. N. P. Langford 
to everything pertaining to the welfare of the Yellowstone Park 
that this article has been saved from oblivion. The office of the 
Western Monthly was destroyed by the great Chicago fire of 
1871, and all the files of the magazine were lost. Mr. Folsom 
had lost or given away all copies in his possession. So far as 
known there is but one remaining copy of this issue, and that 
is the one preserved by Mr. Langford. In 1894, Mr. Langford 
caused the article to be reprinted in pamphlet form, with an 
interesting preface by himself. 



DISCOVERY 


63 


of the Franco-German War, spent some time in arranging 
for a military escort to accompany the party. The project 
did not assume definite shape until about the middle of 
August, and when the time for departure arrived, Indian 
alarms caused a majority of the party to repent their deci¬ 
sion to join it. Finally, there were only nine persons who 
were willing to brave all dangers for the success of the 
undertaking. These nine were: 

General Henry D. Washburn, Surveyor-General of Mon¬ 
tana, chief of the expedition, and author of a series of 
valuable “ notes 99 describing it. 

Hon. Nathaniel P. Langford, who published a series of 
articles in Scribner's Magazine , which gave general pub¬ 
licity to the news of discovery. He became first Superin¬ 
tendent of the Park. 

Hon. Cornelius Hedges, who first proposed setting apart 
this region as a National Park. 

Hon. Truman C. Everts, ex-TI. S. Assessor for Montana, 
whose experience upon the expedition forms the most pain¬ 
ful and thrilling chapter in the annals of the Yellowstone. 

Hon. Samuel T. Hauser, President of the First National 
Bank of Helena, and later Governor of Montana. 

Walter Trumbull, son of the late Senator Trumbull. He 
published an account of the expedition in the Overland 
Monthly for June, 1871. 

Other civilian members of the expedition were Benjamin 
Stickney, Jr., Warren C. Gillette, and Jacob Smith. 

The personnel of this party is sufficient evidence of the 
widespread interest which was being taken at the time in 
the region of the Upper Yellowstone. 

The party proceeded from Helena to Fort Ellis, one hun¬ 
dred and twenty-five miles, where they were to receive a 
military escort promised by General Hancock, at that time 
commanding the department in which Fort Ellis was lo¬ 
cated. The post order detailing this escort is dated August 
21, 1870, and directs Lieutenant Gustavus C. Doane, Second 
Cavalry, with one sergeant and four privates, “to escort 


64 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the Surveyor-General of Montana to the falls and lakes 
of the Yellowstone and return.” There is a significant 
absence in this order of any reference to geysers or hot 
springs; and the discreet post commander evidently did not 
intend to commit himself to a recognition of their existence 
on the strength of such knowledge as was then available. 
His incredulity was, indeed, largely shared by the members 
of the party themselves. Mr. Hedges subsequently said: 

“ I think a more confirmed set of skeptics never went out 
into the wilderness than those who composed our party, 
and never was a party more completely surprised and cap¬ 
tivated with the wonders of nature.” 

Lieutenant Doane, than whom no member of the expe¬ 
dition holds a more honorable place in its history, has left 
on record a similar confession. 

The party as finally organized, including two packers 
and two colored cooks, numbered nineteen individuals. 
Thirty-five horses and mules, thoroughly equipped for a 
month’s absence, completed the “ outfit,” and made alto¬ 
gether quite an imposing cavalcade. 

August 22, 1870, the expedition left Fort Ellis, crossed 
to the Yellowstone, and ascended that stream through the 
First and Second Canyons, past the “ Devil’s Slide ” and 
Cinnabar Mountain, to the present north boundary line 
of the Park at the mouth of the Gardiner River. At this 
point they were within five miles of the celebrated Mam¬ 
moth Hot Springs which are now the first attraction to 
meet the tourist’s eye on entering the Park. But the party 
kept close to the Yellowstone, instead of taking the mod¬ 
ern route up the Gardiner, and missed this wonder alto¬ 
gether. 

It was August 26th when the expedition entered the 
present territory of the Park. Lieutenant Doane and 
Mr. Everts, with one soldier and two hunters picked up 
on the way, rode in advance along the brink of the Third 
Canyon and across the high plateau between the Gardiner 
and Tower Creek, camping at nightfall upon the latter 


DISCOVERY 


65 


stream. In the broad open valley near the junction of 
the Yellowstone and East Fork, a small tepid sulphur 
spring gave them the first evidence of their approach to 
the regions of volcanic activity. 

Next day, the remainder of the party arrived. Two 
days were spent in examining the beautiful Tower Falls, 
and—to our tyros in geyser exploration—the wonderful 
hot spring formations to be seen at that point. Here they 
also had for the first time glimpses of the Grand Canyon 
of the Yellowstone. 

The party left Tower Creek on the 29th of August, and 
proceeded south over the east flank of Mount Washburn. 
As their progress lifted them rapidly above the surrounding 
country, a marvelously beautiful landscape unfolded itself 
to their view. Presently an interesting incident occurred, 
which shall stand here in Lieutenant Doane’s own lan¬ 
guage : 

“ Through the mountain gap formed by the canyon, and 
on the interior slopes some twenty miles distant, an object 
now appeared which drew a simultaneous expression of 
wonder from every one of the party. A column of steam, 
rising from the dense woods to the height of several hun¬ 
dred feet, became distinctly visible. We had all heard 
fabulous stories of this region, and were somewhat skeptical 
of appearances. At first it was pronounced a fire in the 
woods, but presently someone noticed that the vapor rose 
in regular puffs, as if expelled with great force. Then 
conviction was forced upon us. It was, indeed, a great 
column of steam, puffing away on the lofty mountain side, 
escaping with a roaring sound audible at a long distance, 
even through the heavy forest. A hearty cheer rang out at 
this discovery, and we pressed onward with renewed en¬ 
thusiasm.” 

The party then ascended the lofty mountain to their 
right, now known as Mount Washburn, and from its sum¬ 
mit looked around upon the vast panorama which is now 
included in the Yellowstone Park. Had old James Bridger 


66 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

been present at that moment, he would have received ample 
vindication for long-standing injustice at the hands of his 
incredulous countrymen. There were the Canyon and 
Falls and Lake of the Yellowstone with evidence enough 
of boiling springs and geysers! The enthusiasm of the 
party was unbounded, and Lieutenant Doane exultingly 
declares that they were “ more than satisfied with the open¬ 
ing up of the campaign.” 

The pack-train continued its course along the side of 
the mountain, and went into camp after a march of only 
twelve miles. That evening Messrs. Washburn, Doane, and 
Hedges went on ahead of the main party, discovering the 
extensive mud springs at the southern base of the moun¬ 
tain, and finally reached the verge of a cliff beyond which 
yawned the stupendous Canyon of the Yellowstone. It was 
the first real view from near by, but darkness prevented 
further examination. 

The next day saw the arrival of the party at the Falls 
of the Yellowstone, close by the mouth of Cascade Creek, 
which, with its Crystal Falls, received that day their pres¬ 
ent names. The remainder of this day, August 30th, and 
the next, were spent in exploring the canyon and measuring 
the height of the falls. Messrs. Hauser and Stickney de¬ 
scended the sides of the canyon to the brink of the river 
about two miles below the falls; and Lieutenant Doane and 
Private McConnell accomplished the same difficult feat 
further down. It needs not to be said that the members of 
the party were profoundly impressed with the incomparable 
scenery of the Grand Canyon, although their descriptions 
of it are, perhaps, least satisfactory of any they have left us. 

From the Canyon the party ascended the now placid river 
amid ever-changing wonders. They passed Sulphur Moun¬ 
tain and the uncanny region around the Mud Volcano and 
Mud Geyser, then crossed to the east shore of the river and 
finally went into camp, September 3d, on the shore of the 
Yellowstone Lake. Here our explorers were again in ecsta¬ 
sies, and not without cause; for, seen under favoring con- 





*•%! 


K/n't 


Great Fall of the Yellowstone 
Original Sketch by Private Moore, a Soldier in the Es¬ 
cort of the Washburn Expedition of 1870. 
(First Picture of the Fall ever made) 





DISCOVERY 67 

ditions, this “ watery solitude ” is one of the most beautiful 
objects in nature. 

After a day spent in this camp, the expedition continued 
by slow stages up the east shore of the lake. Messrs. Doane 
and Langford scaled the lofty Absaroka Range just east of 
the lake, being the first white men known to have accom¬ 
plished this feat, and their names now designate two of its 
noblest summits. 

September 7th, the party forded the Upper Yellowstone 
and traversed the almost impassable labyrinths of fallen 
timber between the several projecting arms on the south of 
the lake. It was on this portion of the route, September 
9th, that Mr. Everts became separated from his party, lost 
his horse with all his accouterments, and commenced those 
“ thirty-seven days of peril,” which so nearly cost him his 
life.* This unfortunate affair cast a deep gloom over the 
little party and seriously interfered with the progress of 
the expedition. A week was spent in searching for the lost 
companion, without other results than the discovery of the 
hot springs basins at Heart Lake and on the west shore 
of the Yellowstone Lake. 

At length it was concluded that Mr. Everts had either 
been killed or had wandered back home; and it was re¬ 
solved to wait no longer. The party were surfeited with 
sight-seeing, and believed that they had now covered the 
whole ground. They therefore determined to strike across 
the mountains to the Madison and follow that stream to 
the settlements. They set out on the morning of Septem¬ 
ber 17th, over rugged hills and through fallen timber, 
crossing the Continental Divide twice, and camping that 
night in an open glade on a small branch of the Firehole. 
While passing the second time over the Divide, they caught 
a glimpse of Shoshone Lake and erroneously thought it 
to be the head of the Firehole River. 

At 9 a.m., September 18th, the march was resumed. 

* See Chapter XVIII and also Scribner’s Monthly, vol. Ill, 

p. 1. 



68 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The party soon reached the Firehole just above Kepler 
Cascade and thence followed down the course of the stream. 
Tourists who have visited the Park since 1891, when the 
new road from the Upper Basin to the Lake was opened, 
will remember that immediately after leaving “ Old Faith¬ 
ful ” they plunge into an unbroken pihe forest and see no 
other evidences of geyser action until they reach the Lake. 
The situation of our homeward-bound explorers can thus be 
easily understood. They were traveling toward the geysers. 
The dense forest concealed everything beyond the radius 
of a few hundred feet. In unsuspecting mood, bent only 
on getting home to tell their wonderful story, and perhaps 
to find their missing companion, they moved down the 
river, crossing considerably below the site of the present 
bridge above the Upper Basin, and suddenly emerged from 
the timber into an open treeless valley. It was nearly noon 
of a clear, cool September day. Directly in front of them, 
scarcely two hundred yards away, a vertical column of 
water and steam was shooting upward a hundred and fifty 
feet into the air. The bright sunlight turned the clear 
water into a mass of glittering crystals, and a gentle breeze 
wafted the vast white curtain of steam far to the right 
across the valley. Thus it was that “ Old Faithful,” as if 
forewarned of the approach of her distinguished visitors, 
gave them her most graceful salutation; and thus she 
bowed out of the era of tradition and fable, and ushered 
the civilized world into the untrodden empire of the Fire 
King. Little wonder that our astonished explorers 
“ spurred their jaded horses,” and “ gathered around the 
wonderful phenomenon.” 

The party spent only the remainder of the day and the 
following morning in the Upper Basin; but in that time 
saw seven of the principal geysers in action, and gave them 
their present names.* They then passed down the river 
through the Middle and Lower Basins, but stopped to ex- 


* See list of geysers in Appendix. 



DISCOVERY 


69 

amine only such curiosities as were close by the river. Their 
rations were nearly gone, their lost companion was not 
found, and the desire to tell what they had already seen 
was greater than the desire to see more. They therefore 
made haste for home, and on the evening of September 19th 
encamped where the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers unite to 
form the Madison. From this point the party journeyed 
steadily homeward, conversing on the expedition of the 
past month, and planning how their great discovery might 
best be brought to the attention of the world. 

The news of this expedition created intense and wide¬ 
spread interest throughout the country. Messrs. Wash¬ 
burn, Hedges, Trumbull, and others, prepared numerous 
descriptive articles for the local Montana papers, many of 
them among the best that have ever been written upon the 
Park, and these were reproduced in every important paper 
in the land. The Helena Herald, of October 27, 1870, only 
a month after the return of the party, refers to the extraor¬ 
dinary interest aroused by these articles, so unlike the 
sixty years’ indifference which had marked the history of 
this region. 

These preliminary and hasty accounts were followed by 
more studied efforts. Lieutenant Doane’s masterly report 
was completed December 15, 1870. Besides its intrinsic 
merit, it has the distinction of being the first official report 
upon the country now embraced in the Yellowstone Park. 
It passed through the customary military channels and was 
finally sent to Congress, February 24, 1871. Professor S. 
F. Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, presented the 
information gathered by Lieutenant Doane to the Philo¬ 
sophical Society of Washington during the winter. 

Messrs. Langford and Trumbull prepared entertaining 
magazine articles, which, however, could not be gotten to 
press until the following May and June. But Mr. Lang¬ 
ford in the meantime did effective work from the lecture 
stand. In Helena, Minneapolis, New York, and Washing¬ 
ton, he told the story of what he had seen. In Washington, 


70 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the Hon. James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House, presided 
at the lecture, and in the audience was Dr. F. V. Hayden, 
who was destined to play a prominent part in the history 
of the Park. 

From whatever point of view considered, this expedition 
is one of the most remarkable in our annals. From 
•Helena to the farthest point reached by the party, the 
route passed over was nearly three hundred miles long. 
The region of the Upper Yellowstone is perhaps the most 
difficult of access in the entire country. Even to-day, it 
is an almost certain place in which to get lost, if one is 
not thoroughly familiar with wilderness travel and happens 
to stray away from the beaten path. In 1870, moreover, 
the danger from hostile Indians was a constant and 
formidable menace, and the party was more than once 
reminded of it during the progress of the expedition. But 
in spite of all these difficulties, the success of the enterprise 
was so complete, its incidents were so full of romance, and 
its results were so far-reaching and important, that it well 
deserves the wide attention it has received. 


THE JOINT GOVERNMENT EXPEDITION OF 1871. 

The direct result of the expedition of 1870 was to cause 
the United States Geological Survey to change its pro¬ 
gramme for the season of 1871, so as to give attention to 
the new wonderland; and also to cause the military authori¬ 
ties to send a well-appointed engineer party to the same 
locality. These two expeditions, one under Dr. Hayden 
and the other under Captains Barlow and Heap, of the 
Engineer Corps of the Army, moved for the most part 
together, camping near each other, and accompanied by the 
same military escort. Particular attention will here be 
given only to such features of these expeditions as pertain 
to new discoveries. 

At the very outset of their journey they branched off 
from the Washburn route at the mouth of the Gardiner 


DISCOVERY 


71 


River, and by ascending this stream, discovered the won¬ 
derful formations now known as the Mammoth Hot 
Springs. From this point, the parties traveled eastward to 
Tower Creek; thence over Mt. Washburn, and past the 
Canyon and Falls, to Sulphur Mountain, Mud Geyser, and 
the Lake; thence by a new route across the mountains to 
the Upper Basin; thence east across the mountains again, 
past Shoshone Lake to Yellowstone Lake; thence around 
the head of this body of water to its outlet; thence across 
the country, by separate routes, to the mouth of Soda Butte 
Creek; and thence down the East Fork to Baronett 
Bridge (which had been built only a few months be¬ 
fore), and out of the Park by way of Mammoth Hot 
Springs. 

The original work done by these parties, besides the 
discovery of the springs on the Gardiner, was the opening 
of a route between the Yellowstone River and the Lower 
Geyser Basin; the exploration of the Lower Basin; the 
mapping of the shore line of Yellowstone Lake, by Dr. 
Hayden; the mapping of the headwaters of the Snake 
River, by Captain Barlow; and some hasty explorations in 
the valley of the East Fork of the Yellowstone, now called 
Lamar River. 

The chief value of these explorations, however, was not 
in the line of original discovery, but in the large collection 
of accurate data concerning the entire region. The photo¬ 
graphs were of immense value. Description might exag¬ 
gerate, but the camera told the truth; and in this case 
the truth was more remarkable than exaggeration. Un¬ 
fortunately for Captain Barlow’s collection, the great 
Chicago fire almost entirely destroyed it. The same cause 
delayed the appearance of his report until six weeks after 
the Park Bill was passed. An interesting and complete 
summary, however, appeared as a supplement in the 
Chicago Journal for January 13, 1872. The report and 
collection of photographs and specimens by Dr. Hayden 
were therefore the principal results of this season’s work. 


72 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


and they played a decisive part in the events of the winter 
of 1871-2. 

With the close of the expedition of 1871, the discovery 
of the Yellowstone wonderland was made complete. It 
remained to see what Congress would do with so unique 
and valuable a possession. 


CHAPTER X 


THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA—ITS ORIGIN AND REALIZATION 

?TER the Park was created and received to such a 



il marked degree the approval of the people, numerous 
claimants arose for the honor of having first suggested the 
idea. In truth, no special credit for originality should 
attach to the matter. It was a natural, an unavoidable 
proposition. To those who first saw these wonders, and 
were not so absorbed in gold-seeking as to be incapable 
of appreciating their importance, it was clear that, within 
a few years, they must become objects of universal interest. 
It was equally clear that the land around them would 
soon be taken up by private interests, and that the beau¬ 
tiful formations would be carried off for mercenary pur¬ 
poses; in short, that the early history of Niagara would 
repeat itself in the Yellowstone. To avoid such a mis¬ 
fortune only one course was open, and that was for the 
government to retain control of the entire region. That 
the necessity for such a course should have been set forth 
independently by several different parties, as we find it to 
have been, is therefore not in the least surprising.* 

* Mr. Folsom deserves mention in this connection. In the 
manuscript of his article in the Western Monthly was a refer¬ 
ence to the Park idea; but the publishers cut out a large part 
of his paper, giving only the descriptions of the natural won¬ 
ders, and this reference was cut out with the rest. Mr. Folsom 
also suggested the idea to General Washburn, of which fact 
Mr. N. P. Langford was a witness. From Mr. Folsom’s sug¬ 
gestion, however, no direct result can be traced. 

In the first edition of this work the author represented George 
Catlin, the well-known painter of Indian scenes and portraits, as 
having originated the Park idea. This was hardly correct. Cat- 
lin’s idea of a National Park was solely as a home for the In- 


73 



?4 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARE 


But inasmuch as the development of the project must 
have started from some one source, it is of interest 
historically to determine what this source was. We find 
it to have been the Washburn Expedition of 1870. The 
subject was discussed by the party at the first camp after 
leaving the geyser regions near the junction of the Firehole 
and Gibbon Rivers. The date was September 19, 1870. 
The members of the party were sitting around the camp¬ 
fire after supper, conversing about what they had seen, and 
picturing to themselves the important pleasure resort 
which so wonderful a region must soon become. The 
natural impulse to turn the fruits of discovery to the per¬ 
sonal profit of the discoverers made its appearance, and it 
was suggested that it would be a “ profitable speculation ” 
to take up land around the various objects of interest. 
The conversation had not proceeded far on these lines when 
one of the party, Cornelius Hedges, interposed and said 
that private ownership of that region, or any part of it, 
ought never to be countenanced; but that it ought to be 
set apart by the government and forever held to the unre¬ 
stricted use of the people. This higher view of the subject 
found immediate acceptance with the other members of the 
party. It was agreed that the project should be at once set 
afoot and pushed vigorously to a finish. 

As soon as the party reached Helena, a series of articles 
appeared in the daily papers of that city describing the late 
expedition, and in one of them, written by Mr. Hedges and 
published in the Helena Herald November 9, 1870, occurs 


dians—a “ Nation’s Park, containing man and beast in all the 
wildness and freshness of their nature’s beauty.” He was an 
enthusiast upon that subject, as the following reference to it 
will show: “ I would ask no other monument to my memory, nor 
any other enrollment of my name among the famous dead, than 
the reputation of having been the founder of such an institu¬ 
tion.” His scheme had no reference to the geyser regions, of 
which he probably never heard, and his name cannot be consid¬ 
ered in connection with those who originated the idea of the 
Yellowstone Park. 



THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA 75 

what is believed to be the first public reference to the Park 
project. 

The next mention of the subject was in Mr. Langford’s 
lecture, delivered, as already related, in Washington, Jan¬ 
uary 19, 1871; in New York, January 21, 1871; and at a 
later date in Minneapolis. At each of these places he 
closed his lecture with a reference to the importance of 
setting apart this region as a National Park. The New 
York Tribune thus quotes Mr. Langford: 

“ This is probably the most remarkable region of natural 
attractions in the world; and, while we already have our 
Niagara and Yosemite, this new field of wonders should 
be at once withdrawn from occupancy, and set apart as a 
public National Park for the enjoyment of the American 
people for all time.” 

Such is the origin of the idea which has found realiza¬ 
tion in our present Yellowstone Park. The history of the 
Act of Dedication, by which the Park was created, may be 
briefly told. The general plan for a vigorous prosecution 
of the project was arranged in Helena, Mont., mainly 
by Nathaniel P. Langford, Cornelius Hedges, and William 
H. Clagett, who had just been elected delegate to Congress 
from Montana, and who had already himself independently 
urged the importance of converting this region into a 
public park. Mr. Langford went to Washington when 
Congress convened, and he and Mr. Clagett drew the Park 
Bill, except as to description of boundaries, which was 
furnished by Dr. Hayden. The bill was introduced in the 
House by Mr. Clagett, December 18, 1871. Senator 
Pomeroy, of Kansas, had expressed a desire to perform a 
like service in the Senate, and accordingly Mr. Clagett, as 
soon as he had presented the measure to the House, took 
a copy to the Senate Chamber and gave it to Senator 
Pomeroy, who immediately introduced it. In each House 
it was referred to the Committee on Public Lands. In the 
Senate no formal report was prepared. In the House the 
Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, of Minnesota, chairman of the 


76 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


sub-committee having the bill in charge, addressed a letter 
under date of January 27, 1872, to the Secretary of the 
Interior, asking his opinion upon the proposed measure. 
The Secretary replied, under date of January 29th, fully 
indorsing the project, and submitting a brief report by 
Dr. Hayden, which forcibly presented all the main features 
of the case. 

The bill, being thus before Congress, was put through 
mainly by the efforts of three men, Dr. F. Y. Hayden, 
N. P. Langford, and Delegate William H. Clagett. Dr. 
Hayden occupied a commanding position in this work, as 
representative of the government in the exploration of 
1871. He was thoroughly familiar with the subject, and 
was equipped with an exhaustive collection of photographs 
and specimens gathered the previous summer. These were 
placed on exhibition, and were probably seen by all mem¬ 
bers of Congress. They did a work which no other agency 
could do, and doubtless convinced every one who saw them 
that the region where such wonders existed should be care¬ 
fully preserved to the people forever. 

Mr. Langford, as already stated, had publicly advocated 
the measure in the previous winter. He had rendered 
service of the utmost importance, through his publication 
in Scribner’s Magazine in the preceding May and June. 
Four hundred copies of these magazines were bought and 
placed upon the desks of members of Congress on the days 
when the measure was to be brought to vote. During the 
entire winter Mr. Langford devoted much of his time to 
the promotion of this work. 

The Hon. William H. Clagett, as delegate from the 
Territory most directly interested in the passage of the 
bill, took an active personal part in its advocacy from 
beginning to end. 

Through the efforts of these three gentlemen, and others 
less conspicuously identified with the work, this measure 
received perhaps the most thorough canvass of any bill 
that has ever passed Congress. All the members were per- 


THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA 


77 


sonally visited and, with few exceptions, won to the cause. 
The result was practical unanimity of opinion when the 
measure came to a vote. This first took place in the 
Senate, the bill being passed by that body January 30th. 
It was warmly supported upon its passage by several mem¬ 
bers and opposed by one, Senator Cole, of California; a 
fact the more remarkable because that Senator had in his 
own State—in the pre-emption by private parties of the 
Yosemite wonderland—the most convincing example possi¬ 
ble of the wisdom of such a measure as that proposed. 

The Senate bill came up from the Speaker’s table in the 
House of Representatives, February 27th. Mr. Dunnell 
stated that the Committee on Public Lands had instructed 
him to ask the House to pass the Senate bill. Hon. H. L. 
Dawes, of Massachusetts, warmly advocated the measure, 
which was then passed by a decisive vote.* The bill 
received the President’s signature March 1, 1872.f 


* No yea and nay vote was taken in the Senate. The vote in 
the House was—yeas, 115; nays, 65; not voting, 60. 

t THE ACT OF DEDICATION. 

An Act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the head¬ 
waters of the Yellowstone River as a public park. 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled , That the 
tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming lying 
near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River and described as 
follows, to-wit: Commencing at the junction of Gardiner’s River 
with the Yellowstone River and running east to the meridian, 
passing ten miles to the eastward of the most eastern point of 
Yellowstone Lake; thence south along the said meridian to the 
parallel of latitude, passing ten miles south of the most southern 
point of Yellowstone Lake; thence west along said parallel to the 
meridian, passing fifteen miles west of the most western point of 
Madison Lake; thence north along said meridian to the latitude 
of the junction of the Yellowstone and Gardiner’s Rivers; thence 
east to the place of beginning, is hereby reserved and withdrawn 
from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United 
States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring 
ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people; and all per¬ 
sons who shall locate, or settle upon, or occupy the same or any 



78 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

Perhaps no act of our national Congress has received 
such general approbation at home or such profuse com¬ 
mendation from foreigners as that creating the Yellow¬ 
stone National Park. The lapse of time only serves to con¬ 
firm and extend its importance; and to give additional 
force to the sentiment so well expressed by the Earl of 
Dunraven when he visited the Park in 1874: “ All honor 
then to the United States for having bequeathed as a free 
gift to man the beauties and curiosities of ‘ Wonderland/ 
It was an act worthy of a great nation, and she will have 
her reward in the praise of the present army of tourists, 
no less than in the thanks of the generations of them yet 
to come.” * 

part thereof, except as hereinafter provided, shall be considered 
trespassers and removed therefrom. 

Sec. 2. That said public park shall be under the exclusive 
control of the Secretary of the Interior, whose duty it shall be, 
as soon as practicable, to make and publish such rules and 
regulations as he may deem necessary or proper for the care 
and management of the same. Such regulations shall provide 
for the preservation from injury or spoliation of all timber, 
mineral deposits, natural curiosities or wonders within said 
park, and their retention in their natural condition. 

The Secretary may, in his discretion, grant leases for build¬ 
ing purposes, for terms not exceeding ten years, of small par¬ 
cels of ground, at such places in said park as shall require the 
erection of buildings for the accommodation of visitors; all of 
the proceeds of said leases, and all other revenue that may be 
derived from any source connected with said park, to be ex¬ 
pended under his direction in the management of the same and 
the construction of roads and bridle-paths, and shall provide 
against the wanton destruction of the fish and game found within 
said park and against their capture or destruction for the pur¬ 
pose of merchandise or profit. He shall also cause all persons 
trespassing upon the same after the passage of this act to be 
removed therefrom, and generally shall be authorized to take all 
such measures as shall be necessary or proper to fully carry out 
the objects and purposes of this act. 

Approved March 1, 1872. 

Signed by: 

James G. Blaine, Speaker of the House. 

Schuyler Colfax, Vice-President of the United States and 
President of the Senate. 

Ulysses S. Grant, President of the United States. 

* Page xi., “ The Great Divide.” 



THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA 


79 


It was a notable act, not only on account of the tran¬ 
scendent importance of the territory it was designed to pro¬ 
tect, but because it was a marked innovation in the tradi¬ 
tional policy of governments. From time immemorial 
privileged classes have been protected by law in the with¬ 
drawal, for the exclusive enjoyment, of immense tracts 
for forests, parks, and game preserves. But never before 
was a region of such vast extent as the Yellowstone Park 
set apart for the use of all the people without distinction of 
rank or wealth. 

The example thus set by the United States has been 
widely followed both at home and abroad, but particularly 
in the western portion of North America, where the ob¬ 
stacle of private occupancy has been largely absent. 


THE NATIONAL PARKS AT A GLANCE 


Year 

Name 

Area in 

Created of Park 

Location Sq. Miles 

1832 

Hot Springs 

Middle Arkansas 

iy 2 

1872 

Yellowstone 

Northwestern Wyoming 

3,348 

1890 

Sequoia 

Middle Eastern Calif. 

252 

1890 

Yosemite 

Middle Eastern Calif. 

1,125 

1890 

General Grant 

Middle Eastern Calif. 

4 

1899 

Mount Rainier 

West Central Washington 

324 

1902 

Crater Lake 

Southwestern Oregon 

249 

1903 

Wind Cave 

South Dakota 

17 

1904 

Platt 

Southern Oklahoma 

1/ 

1904 

Sullys Hill 

North Dakota 

1/2 

1906 

Mesa Verde 

Southwestern Colorado 

77 

1910 

Glacier 

Northwestern Montana 

1,534 

1915 

Rocky Mountain 

North Middle Colorado 

397^ 

1916 

Hawaii 

Hawaii 

186 

1916 

Lassen Volcanic 

Northern California 

124 

1917 

Mt. McKinley 

South Central Alaska 

2,645 

1919 

Grand Canyon 

North Central Arizona 

958 

1919 

Lafayette 

Maine Coast 

8 

1919 

Zion 

Southwestern Utah 

120 


80 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


As explained in Part II, Chapter XII, ADMINISTRA¬ 
TION OF THE PARK, the National Park Service has 
charge of all the national parks and monuments in the 
United States. Since the creation of the Service August 
25th, 1916, there has been a great increase in the number 
of visitors, and a more general appreciation of the national 
parks and monuments. 

The States have to some extent taken up the same cause, 
and we now have, among others, the Niagara and Itasca 
Parks. Canada has gone a long way in this laudable work 
and New Zealand has made a public park of its geyser 
regions. To some extent, in this and other countries, the 
maintenance of reservations for the purpose of preserving 
the native fauna has been commenced, and this policy will 
probably be definitely adopted in those regions where the 
more important of the wild animals would otherwise be in 
danger of extinction. 



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CHAPTER XI 


WHY SO LONG UNKNOWN 

T HERE is no more singular fact connected with the 
history of the Upper Yellowstone country than its 
long immunity from the presence of white men. From 
the date (1806) when Captain Clark passed the site of 
Livingston, Mont., less than sixty miles distant from this 
notable region, sixty-four years elapsed before it was fully 
known. In the meantime all the surrounding country had 
been thoroughly explored. Cities, villages, farms, and 
highways had been established throughout the West. A 
railroad had been built across the continent. But around 
the headwaters of the Yellowstone, the most attractive 
region of all, it was still terra incognita. A fact so remark¬ 
able requires explanation. 

In the first place, as already noted, very little knowledge 
of this region appears to have been derived from the In¬ 
dians. Lewis and Clark were told of the Great Falls of 
the Missouri, and of other notable geographical features, 
long before they saw them. But of the far more wonderful 
Falls of the Yellowstone, of the great lake in the mountains, 
or of the marvelous volcanic phenomena in the same neigh¬ 
borhood, they received no hint. There is not a single in¬ 
stance on record, so far as we can discover, except in the 
meager facts noted in an earlier chapter, where rumors of 
this strange country appear to have fallen from the lips of 
Indians. And yet it was not a region unknown to them, 
for they had certainly passed back and forth across it for 
a long period in the past. Their deep silence concerning 
it is therefore no less mysterious than remarkable. 

But how was it that the long period of the fur trade 
81 


82 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


should have passed without disclosing this country? To 
this question a more satisfactory answer may be returned. 
The Upper Yellowstone country was indeed, as we have 
seen, frequently visited in these early years. But it was 
never favorite territory. Old trappers say that, although it 
abounded in beaver, they were not so plentiful as in lower 
altitudes, while on the streams impregnated with mineral 
matter, the furs were not so good. The seasons also were 
unpropitious. The winter snows were so deep—they came 
so early and remained so late—that little could be done 
there except from the middle of June to the middle of 
September. But furs taken during the summer months 
are of inferior quality, and there was consequently no 
inducement to trap. Moreover it was generally at this time 
that the gatherings at posts and rendezvous took place, 
and after these were over but little time remained. Causes 
like these prevented extensive operations in this region, 
and doubtless only a comparatively small number of trap¬ 
pers ever saw it. 

Then, the interest of the trader was against the dis¬ 
semination of any knowledge which might induce immi¬ 
gration and hasten the certain ruin of his occupation. The 
stress of competition also caused him to remain silent con¬ 
cerning the places he had seen, lest a rival should profit 
thereby. He took no pains to reveal the country, and the 
trappers were too illiterate to do so had they wished. With 
the few notable exceptions which have been mentioned in 
a previous chapter, no important press notice of these 
regions appeared during the entire sixty-four years. 

The fur business itself quickly ran its course, and with 
it disappeared all probability of an early discovery of the 
geyser regions from this cause. The war with Mexico 
followed, with the vast cession of territory which it secured; 
and almost simultaneously the settlement of the Oregon 
Question. Then came the highly important discovery of 
gold in California. Already the Mormon emigration had 
taken place. These great events completely changed the 


WHY SO LONG UNKNOWN 


83 


character and purpose of western exploration. The whole 
West was forgotten excepting only California and the Salt 
Lake Valley, and the routes leading to them. None of 
these led close to the geyser regions. On the north were 
the British fur trader’s route, and the Missouri River route, 
both of which led directly west to the Columbia. To the 
south was the great thoroughfare along the Platte River 
and through South Pass, leading to Utah, California, and 
Oregon. Still further south were the long known routes 
near the border of Old Mexico. It was hopelessly im¬ 
probable that gold-seekers bound to the Pacific Coast along 
any of these routes would stray into the mountain fast¬ 
nesses about the sources of the Yellowstone. 

Finally the whole energy of the government in the field 
of exploration was directed away from this region. In the 
period from 1804-6, the date of Lewis and Clark’s Ex¬ 
pedition, to 1870, the date of the real discovery of the Park, 
there were no fewer than one hundred and ten explorations 
in the country west of the Mississippi, nearly all of which 
had government authority, and were conducted on a scien¬ 
tific basis. Of these eighty-four were in the territory lately 
acquired from Mexico, and mostly in the far South and 
West. Nineteen were east of the Big Horn Mountains, five 
north of the Yellowstone, and only two in the region about 
the Upper Yellowstone. Of these two expeditions one was 
that of Lewis and Clark, and was in no wise intended to 
explore the Upper Yellowstone further than might be neces¬ 
sary to find a good route to the Pacific. This leaves but 
a single expedition of the whole number, that of Captain 
Raynolds, which was directed to this specific territory. 
How the purpose of this expedition was defeated by the 
heavy snow in the mountains and by the solar eclipse of 
1860, has been elsewhere related. 

And so it came about that it was the gold-seeker who 
finally revealed the well-kept secret of the Yellowstone. 
Itself destitute of mineral wealth, this region could not 
escape the ubiquitous prospector. It was not, indeed, by 


84 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


him that it was publicly proclaimed to the world. He 
cared little for any country that was destitute of “ color ” 
or "pay.” But the hints he dropped put others on the 
track and opened the door to real discovery. 

This fact of long delay in the discovery of the Upper 
Yellowstone is the most important in its history. Had it 
been known at an earlier date, its fate would have been 
deplorably different. The period of the fur trade was too 
early for the interest of the people to demand, or the power 
of the government to enforce, its protection. If Captain 
Raynolds had discovered it, all its most valuable tracts 
would have been preempted long before the government 
would have been able to give it attention. Fortunately, 
the discovery was delayed until there was a considerable 
population in the country near by, and the government was 
prepared actively to consider the matter. Before settlers 
could establish a permanent foothold, the Park was cre¬ 
ated, and all the vexatious obstacles, which might otherwise 
have defeated the project, were avoided. 


CHAPTER XII 


LATER EXPLORATIONS 

AS soon as the remarkable character of the country about 
jflL the sources of the Yellowstone became generally 
known, there was a rush of explorers to its borders. Every 
expedition that could extend the field of its labors in that 
direction did so, and there was scarcely a summer during 
the next twenty years that the Park was not the scene of 
some official exploration or visit. 

By far the most important of these were the various 
expeditions under the United States Geological Survey. 
Dr. Hayden was again in the country with two parties in 
1872, and very widely extended the range of observations 
of the previous year. In 1878, survey parties again en¬ 
tered the Park and resumed work there on a more 
minute and extensive scale. The result of that year’s 
explorations appeared in 1883 in the form of an elaborate 
report by Dr. Hayden and his co-workers, which entered 
with much detail into the more important subjects of 
scientific interest. It was embellished with a great number 
of engravings and colored plates, and with an exhaustive 
series of topographical and geological maps. The work 
was again taken up in 1883, and was continued for several 
years. All questions of scientific importance were investi¬ 
gated more thoroughly than ever before, and many valuable 
official reports and monographs, together with a splendid 
atlas, have been the result. 

In 1872, General John Gibbon, U. S. A., with a consid¬ 
erable party, made a tour of the Park, passing by the usual 
route from Mammoth Hot Springs via Mt. Washburn, the 
Grand Canyon, and the Lake, to the Firehole Geyser Basins. 

85 


86 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


On his way home he attempted to ascend the North Fork 
of the Madison, following an old trail; but he abandoned 
the attempt after going a few miles. His name, which was 
given to the river, has also attached to many other features 
along that valley. 

In 1873, Captain William A. Jones, of the Corps of 
Engineers, passed through the Park as part of a more 
extended reconnaissance. He was the first to carry a party 
through the “ impassable barrier ” of the Absaroka Range. 
Jones Creek, just east of the northern portion of the 
Yellowstone Lake, shows where the party entered the Park. 
From the Lake the expedition passed down the east bank 
of the river to the valley of Junction Butte; thence west 
to Mammoth Hot Springs; thence back over the usual trail 
via Tower Creek, Mt. Washburn, the Grand Canyon and 
Mud Geyser, to the Lower Geyser Basin; thence via the 
Upper Basin to the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake; 
thence to the Upper Yellowstone River; thence through 
Two-Ocean Pass and Two-Gwo-Tee Pass to the valley of 
Wind River. The chief results of this expedition, in the 
line of original discovery, were the passage of the Absaroka 
Range, the verification of the traditional “ Two-Ocean 
Water,” between Atlantic and Pacific Creeks, in Two- 
Ocean Pass, and the discovery of the extremely easy Pass 
(Two-Gwo-Tee *) over the Continental Divide, between the 
Snake and Wind Rivers. Professor Theodore B. Comstock 
accompanied the expedition as geologist. A report of the 
reconnaissance appeared in 1875. 

In 1875, Captain William Ludlow, of the Corps of 
Engineers, made a reconnaissance from Carroll, Mont., 
on the Missouri River, to the Yellowstone Park and return. 
In the Park he followed the previously traveled routes and 
developed little in the line of original discovery. He 
succeeded, however, in obtaining accurate measurements 
of the height of the Yellowstone Falls, and his report 

*So named by Captain Jones for one of his Indian guides, 
and now spelled Togwotee. 



LATER EXPLORATIONS 


87 


forms one of the best brief descriptions of the Park extant. 
Among his civilian assistants was George Bird Grinnell, 
later widely known as the editor of Forest and Stream, and 
as one of the most steadfast and watchful guardians the 
Park has ever had. 

During the same season a distinguished party, consist¬ 
ing of the Secretary of War, General W. W. Belknap, and 
several prominent officers and civilians, with Lieutenant 
G. C. Doane as guide, made a tour of the Park. An inter¬ 
esting narrative of the trip was written by General W. E. 
Strong, who was a member of the party. 

In 1877, General W. T. Sherman and staff made a tour 
of the Park. His letters on the subject to the Secretary 
of War, and the official report prepared by General 0. M. 
Poe of his staff, form a valuable contribution to the 
literature of the Park. 

In the same year General 0. 0. Howard crossed the 
reservation in pursuit of the Nez Perce Indians. 

In 1880, the Hon. Carl Schurz, Secretary of the In¬ 
terior, accompanied by General Crook with a large number 
of officers and soldiers, and an immense pack train, entered 
the Park from the valley of Henry Fork and made an 
extended tour. 

In 1881, Captain W. S. Stanton, of the Corps of En¬ 
gineers, made a reconnaissance through the Park, entering 
by the way of Soda Butte Creek, and passing out by the 
Madison Valley. The most important result of his work 
in the Park was a more accurate table of distances over 
some of the routes than had previously been in use. 

In July and August of this year, the Hon. John W. 
Hoyt, Governor of Wyoming, with a military escort under 
command of Major Julius W. Mason, U. S. A., made an 
extended reconnaissance to discover a practicable wagon 
route to the Yellowstone Park from the southeast. He 
entered the Park by way of the Upper Yellowstone, passed 
through it by way of Yellowstone and Shoshone Lakes, 
the Firehole Geyser Basins, the Grand Canyon, the lower 


88 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

end of Yellowstone Lake, and left it along the route by 
which Captain Jones had entered in 1873. 

In the years 1881 and 1882, General Sheridan, with 
parties of considerable size, twice crossed the Park and 
visited its most important points. His expeditions were 
of great value to the Park from the forcible warning which 
he gave to the public concerning the demoralized condition 
of its civil administration. 

To these various expeditions must be added the extensive, 
though desultory, explorations of P. W. Norris during the 
five years that he was Superintendent of the Park. 

It has thus come about that Yellowstone National Park, 
though remote, inaccessible, and of great extent, is about 
the most thoroughly explored section of the United States. 
Within the territory bounded by the 44th and 45th parallels 
of latitude, and the 110th and 111th meridians of longi¬ 
tude, there are nearly four hundred geographical names. 
The names of hot springs and geysers would probably 
double the number. To appreciate this fact, it must be 
remembered that there are no settlements in the Park, 
and that counties, townships, cities, and villages, which on 
ordinary maps form so large a proportion of the names, 
are here entirely absent. That region has indeed been a 
paradise for the explorer, the topographer, the geologist, 
and the photographer; and its splendid opportunities have 
not gone unimproved. 

The most elaborate pleasure expedition that ever passed 
through this region took place in August, 1883.* It in¬ 
cluded among its members the President of the United 
States, the Secretary of War, the Lieutenant-General of 
the Army, a United States Senator, and several other dis- 


* The year 1883 seems to have been the banner year for dis¬ 
tinguished visitors to the Park. The list of arrivals for that 
year includes the President of the United States and a mem¬ 
ber of his cabinet; the Chief-Justice and an Associate Justice 
of the United States Supreme Court; the General, Lieutenant- 
General, and a large number of other distinguished officers of 



LATER EXPLORATIONS 


89 


tinguished officers and civilians. The interesting part of 
the journey lay between Fort Washakie, Wyo., and the 
Northern Pacific Railroad at Cinnabar, Mont. The 
party traveled entirely on horseback, accompanied by one 
of the most complete pack trains ever organized in this or 
any other country, and escorted by a full troop of cavalry. 
Couriers were stationed every twenty miles with fresh re¬ 
lays, and by this means, communication was daily had 
with the outside world. The whole distance traveled was 
350 miles, through some of the wildest, most rugged, and 
least settled portions of the West. No accident or draw¬ 
back occurred to mar the pleasure of the expedition. The 
great pastime en route was trout fishing, in which the 
President and Senator Vest were acknowledged leaders. 
The phenomenal “ catches ” of these distinguished sports¬ 
men might pass into history as typical “ fish stories,” were 
they not vouched for by the sober record of official dis¬ 
patches, and the unerring evidence of photographer 
Haynes’ camera. The elaborate equipment of this expedi¬ 
tion, the eminent character of its personnel, and the evi¬ 
dent responsibility resting upon those who conducted it, 
attracted a great deal of attention at the time, and gave 
it a prominent place in the annals of Western Wyoming. 

Twenty years after the visit of President Arthur occurred 
the second visit to the Park of a President of the United 
States during his term of office. Theodore Roosevelt ar¬ 
rived in the Park on the 8th of April, accompanied by 
John Burroughs, and remained on the reservation for six¬ 
teen days. He visited the country around Yancey’s, spend¬ 
ing a week in camp there and traveling on horseback. 
This portion of his trip gave him an excellent opportunity 


the army; six United States Senators; one Territorial Gov¬ 
ernor; a prominent railroad president; the Ministers from 
Great Britain and Germany; the President of the Admiralty- 
Division of the High Court of Justice, England; three mem¬ 
bers of Parliament; and a considerable number of other emi¬ 
nent personages, both from this country and abroad. 



90 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


to study the question of game preservation, in which he 
was deeply interested. He next visited the Firehole Geyser 
basins and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, traveling 
all the way by sleigh. The venerable naturalist, his travel¬ 
ing companion, accompanied him on all his journeys, 
although he had not previously been on horseback in over 
forty years. On the day of leaving the Park, April 24th, 
the President assisted in laying the cornerstone of the new 
entrance gate at Gardiner. After the ceremonies, which 
were conducted under Masonic auspices, he delivered an 
address on the subject of the Park to an assemblage of 
about three thousand people who had gathered from all the 
surrounding country. 

Twenty years later, June 30, 1923, President Warren 
G. Harding with Mrs. Harding, Secretary Hubert Work of 
the Department of the Interior, Stephen T. Mather, Di¬ 
rector of the National Park Service, and a party of prom¬ 
inent officials entered the Park, and spent that night at 
Old Faithful. The following day the Lake, Canyon and 
Tower Fall were visited and the party left the night of 
July first. Superintendent Horace M. Albright escorted 
the party. 

In Part II, Chapter XII, ADMINISTRATION OF 
THE PARK, the recent activities of the National Park 
Service in the Park, and exploration of the Cascade Comer, 
recent revisions of the map, etc., are described. 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE PARK NAMES 

I N' common experience, the importance of geographical 
names lies in their use as a means of identification. To 
describe an object there must be a name, and for this 
purpose one name is as good as another. But if the reason 
be sought why a particular name happened to be selected, 
it will generally be found to arise, not from this practical 
necessity, but from some primary fact or tradition, or from 
some distinguished character, in the annals of the com¬ 
munity where it occurs. In its mountains and valleys, its 
lakes and streams, and in its civil divisions, the cradle his¬ 
tory of a country may always be found recorded. 

In newly-discovered countries, the naming of geograph¬ 
ical features is the dearest prerogative of the explorer, as 
it is also the one most liable to abuse from personal vanity 
or egotism. The desire to attach his name, or those of his 
personal friends, to the prominent landmarks of the globe, 
where the eye of posterity may never escape them, is a 
weakness from which no discoverer has shown himself 
free. 

In a region like the Yellowstone Park, destined for all 
time to be a resort for the lovers of science and pleasure, 
this temptation was quite irresistible—so much so, that, 
when the expeditions of 1870 and 1871 left the field, they 
left little worth naming behind them. And yet the honor 
thus gained has not, we venture to say, been all that its 
votaries desired. Small is the number of tourists who stop 
to inquire for whom Mary Lake, DeLacy Creek, or Steven¬ 
son Island was named. Fewer still are aware that Mt. 
Everts was not christened in honor of the distinguished 

91 


92 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


American statesman of similar name, but in commemora¬ 
tion of one of the most thrilling individual experiences in 
American history. So with all these personal names. The 
lively satisfaction with which they were given finds no 
counterpart in the languid indifference with which the 
modern visitor mechanically repeats them. 

Inasmuch as it fell to the lot of the United States 
Geological Survey * to originate a great many of the names 
in our western geography, it is interesting to know from 
official sources the principles which governed in this impor¬ 
tant work. Writing upon this point, Dr. Hayden says: f 

“ In attaching names to the many mountain peaks, new 
streams, and other geographical localities, the discovery of 
which falls to the pleasant lot of the explorer in the un¬ 
trodden wilds of the West, I have followed the rigid law of 
priority, and given the one by which they have been gen¬ 
erally known among the people of the country, whether 
whites or Indians; but if, as is often the case, no suitable 
descriptive name can be secured from the surroundings, a 
personal one may then be attached, and the names of 
eminent men who have identified themselves with the great 
cause, either in the fields of science or legislation, naturally 
rise first in the mind.” 

In the more recent and thorough survey of the Park by 
the United States Geological Survey, it became necessary 
to provide names for those subordinate features which, in 
a less restricted field, the early explorers had thought un¬ 
worthy of notice. Professor Arnold Hague, upon whom 

* The organization now known as the United States Geolog¬ 
ical Survey dates from 1879, when it superseded the various 
independent surveys which had previously been made under 
King, Wheeler, Powell, and Hayden. The Hayden Surveys, which 
are alone here considered of those prior to* 1879, were known 
as the United States Geological (Geological and Geographical, 
in one instance) Survey of the Territories. Although the shorter 
name, United States Geological Survey, is in all cases used 
throughout this work, it refers, since 1879, to the present organi¬ 
zation, and before that time to the Hayden Surveys. 

f Page 8, Fifth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden. 



THE PARK NAMES 93 

this work has principally fallen, thus states the ru ] e which 
he has followed: * 

“ In consultation with Mr. Henry Gannett, geologist in 
charge of geography, it was agreed that the necessary new 
names to designate the unnamed mountains, valleys, and 
streams should be mainly selected from the beasts, birds, 
fishes, trees, flowers, and minerals found within the Park 
or the adjacent country.” 

The christening of the hot springs and geysers of the 
Park have been singularly fortunate. The names are in all 
cases characteristic. They are not studied efforts, but are 
simply the spontaneous utterances from first impressions 
by those who had never seen, and had heard but little of, 
similar phenomena. It is doubtful if the most careful 
study could improve them, and tourists will agree with 
General Poe, who referred as follows to this subject when 
he visited the Park in 1877: f 

“ The region of these geysers has been rightly named 
Fire Hole, and one almost wonders that in this country, 
where the tendency is to name natural objects after men 
who have a temporary prominence, this interesting place 
and its assemblage of wonders should have so completely 
escaped, and in general and in particular received names so 
very appropriate.” 

In the race for the geographical honors of the Park, the 
prize fell neither to the United States Geological Survey 
nor even to Colonel Norris, though each was a close com¬ 
petitor. It was won by that mythical potentate of whose 
sulphurous empire this region is thought by some to be 
simply an outlying province. Starting with “ Colter’s 
Hell,” the list grew until it contained “Hell Roaring 
Creek,” “Hell Broth Springs,” “Hell’s Half Acre,” 
“ Satan’s Arbor,” and the Devil’s “ Den,” “ Workshop,” 
“ Kitchen,” “ Stairway,” “ Slide,” “ Caldron,” “ Punch 

* Page 152, Part I, Annual Report United States Geological 
Survey for year ending June 30, 1887. 

t Page 79, “ Inspection made in the Summer of 1877,” etc. 



94 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Bowl/* “ Frying Pan/* “ Well/* “ Elbow/* “ Thumb/* 
“ Inkstand/* etc., etc. It is some satisfaction to know that 
this rude and fiery nomenclature is gradually falling into 
disuse. 

In a measure from sympathy with the purpose of the 
early name-givers, and to help those who take an interest 
in such matters to know when, by whom, and why the 
geographical names of the Park were given, some of the 
more important will be explained here. The great pro¬ 
portion of them fall naturally under two heads—Personal 
and Characteristic. The personal names may in turn be 
classified into names given for the pioneers in the Park; 
for its explorers; for those who have served it in the fields 
of science or literature; and for those whose only claim 
is that of friendship for the name-giver. To these more 
general classes may be added a few names given for Indian 
tribes, and a dozen or so that may be termed eccentric or 
fanciful. 

Baronett Peak is named for C. J. Baronett, “ Yellow¬ 
stone Jack/* a famous scout and guide, builder of the first 
bridge across the Yellowstone River. 

Colter Peak, it needs hardly be said, is for John Colter, 
the original pioneer. The mountain is located southeast 
of the Yellowstone Lake. 

Yount Peak commemorates an old trapper and guide of 
that region. The mountain is the source of the Yellow¬ 
stone River. 

Conant Creek , in the southwest corner of the Park, is 
for one All Conant, who was in that country as early as 
1865, and came near losing his life in this stream. 

Gardiner River , next to Yellowstone, is the most familiar 
and important name in the Park. The identity of the 
individual for whom it was given was long in doubt, and 
has been definitely settled only within quite recent years. 
His name was Johnson Gardner, and he was one of the 
so-called free trappers. There are extant articles of agree¬ 
ment between him and Kenneth McKenzie, the bourgeois 


THE PARK NAMES 


95 


in charge of the American Fur Company post at Fort 
Union, relating to equipment and furs for the year 1832. 
There are also a statement of Gardner’s account at Fort 
Union in the summer of 1832 and a bill of lading of furs 
shipped on the bull boat Antoine from the “ Crossing of 
the Yellowstone,” July 18th of the same year. 

This was undoubtedly the individual for whom Gardiner 
River was named. The discrepancy in the spelling has no 
significance. The first certain reference to both stream and 
name, placing the identity of each beyond dispute, occurs 
in the letter from Father De Smet, quoted elsewhere. The 
name is thus seen to be the oldest in the Park except the 
name Yellowstone. 

Bridger Lake requires no explanation. The name of this 
famous pioneer survives in many a feature of our western 
geography, but in none with greater honor than in this 
little lake among the mountains that he knew so well; and 
near the source of that majestic stream with which so much 
of his eventful life was identified. 

Heart Lake was named prior to 1870 for an old hunter 
by the name of Hart Hunney, who in early times plied his 
trade in this vicinity. He was possibly one of Bonneville’s 
men, for he seems to have known the General well and to 
have been familiar with his operations. He was killed by 
a war party of Crows in 1852. 

The spelling, Heart, dates from the expeditions of 1871. 
The notion that the name arose from the shape of the lake 
seems to have originated with Captain Barlow. It has 
generally been accepted, although there is really no simi¬ 
larity between the form of the lake and that of a heart. 
Lewis Lake is the only heart-shaped lake in that locality. 

Henry Lake is the name of a noted lake outside the 
limits of the Park on the west and the source of the north 
(Henry) fork of Snake River. It is named for a cele¬ 
brated fur trader, Andrew Henry, who built a trading post 
in 1810 on Henry Fork, near its junction with the 
Snake. 


96 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

Jackson Lake was so called for David Jackson, a noted 
mountaineer and fur trader, and one of the first three 
partners of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. This lake 
was discovered by John Colter and was named by Clark 
Lake Biddle, in honor of Nicholas Biddle, who first gave 
to the world an authentic edition of the journal of the cele¬ 
brated Lewis and Clark Expedition. This original name 
never gained any currency. 

Leigh Lake is for Richard Leigh (“Beaver Dick”), a 
noted hunter, trapper, and guide in the country around the 
Teton Mountains. The nickname “Beaver Dick” arose 
not from the fact that Leigh was an expert beaver trapper, 
but on account of the striking resemblance of two ab¬ 
normally large front teeth in his upper jaw to the teeth of 
a beaver. The Indians called him “ The Beaver.” 

Such are the principal names given for the pioneers of 
this region—those who entered it before the era of ex¬ 
ploration. The explorer list is much more voluminous. 
Among the first under this head are those relating to the 
Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-6. There are three 
of these names, Gallatin, Madison, and Lewis. The first 
designates one of the Three Forks of the Missouri, which 
takes its rise in the northeast corner of the Park in the 
Gallatin Mountains. The second is also one of the Three 
Forks, and rises (through its largest tributary, the Firehole 
River) in Madison Lake, ten miles south of Lone Star 
Geyser. Lewis Lake and River are, of course, named in 
honor of the famous explorer, Captain Meriwether 
Lewis. 

Raynolds Pass , the name of a feature which lies outside 
the Park near Henry Lake, dates from the Raynolds Ex¬ 
ploring Expedition of 1859-60. 

DeLacy Creek commemorates the prospecting expedition 
across the Park in 1863 under the leadership of Walter W. 
DeLacy, a well-known civil engineer of Montana. 

Folsom Peak is a well-earned honor that has fallen upon 


THE PARK NAMES 


97 


David E. Folsom, the explorer of 1869, and the first indi¬ 
vidual who ever made anything like a complete report of 
a tour of the Park. 

Of the ten members of the Washburn Expedition of 
1870, including Lieutenant Doane, five bequeathed their 
names to prominent mountains of the Park. The leader of 
the party was particularly fortunate, for his name, Wash¬ 
burn, is on the most noted summit in the Park, a mountain 
which will forever be one of the chief delights of visitors 
to this region. 

Langford and Doane are names that have found enviable 
resting places on two noble summits of the Absaroka Range, 
east of the Yellowstone Lake. 

Hedges Peak does honor to the member of the party who 
first proposed the idea of 'converting this region into a 
National Park, and whose subsequent writings did much 
to carry that idea into effect. 

Truman G. Everts, the benighted wanderer, was re¬ 
warded for his suffering and peril by having his name 
given to a famous feature of the Park, the bold and lofty 
rampart that faces Mammoth Hot Springs from across the 
Gardiner River. The location of the name was an awkward 
mischance. The mountain which should bear the name 
is Mt. Sheridan. It was named for Everts by the Wash¬ 
burn Party the night before he was lost, in recognition of 
his having been the first white man (except Mr. Hedges, 
who was with him) known to have visited its summit. In 
the writings of the Washburn Party, after their return, it 
is so used; one very interesting article, by Mr. Hedges, 
with this name as a title, being published in the Helena 
Herald before it was known that Mr. Everts had been 
found. But the name was finally given to the high land 
between the Gardiner and the Yellowstone, a feature which 
is not a mountain at all, and which is ten miles from where 
Everts was found. The actual locality of the finding was 
erroneously supposed to be near “ Rescue Creek.” 

Following the Washburn Expedition came those of 1871. 


98 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

Captain Barlow was the only member of his party who 
succeeded in leaving his name in the Park. For several 
years it designated the upper course of Snake River, but 
was later transferred to a neighboring mountain, Barlow 
Peak, in order that the name of the main stream might 
apply to its source. 

If Captain Barlow left no other names of his party, he 
did leave three distinguished names of Army Officers who 
had officially aided in his exploration or had otherwise 
labored in the interest of that region. He remembered the 
chief of his Corps in Mt. Humphreys, and the commander 
of the Military Department in which the Park country 
was then situated in Mt. Hancock; and that distinguished 
soldier and faithful friend of the Park, who often visited 
it and always worked for its interest, in Mt. Sheridan. 

The United States Geological Survey is represented in 
the Park nomenclature beyond any other organization, and 
not always with the best judgment. Some important 
names, like those of Dr. Arnold Hague and Mr. Henry 
Gannett, are absent, while others of no especial claim or 
merit are present. 

The distinguished name of Dr. Hayden is perpetuated 
in the valley of the Yellowstone River, between Mud Geyser 
and the Falls. 

The name of James Stevenson, Hayden’s right-hand 
man, designates one of the trio of Peaks—Langford, Doane, 
and Stevenson —in the Absaroka Range. There is also a 
Stevenson Island in the Yellowstone Lake. 

Mt. Chittenden is for George B. Chittenden; Bechler 
River, for Gustavus A. Bechler; Coulter Creek, for John 
M. Coulter, the botanist; Hering Lake, for Rudolph 
Hering, the eminent civil engineer; Mt. Holmes, for W. H. 
Holmes, geologist; Carrington Island, for Campbell Car¬ 
rington, zoologist; Peale Island, for Dr. A. C. Peale, 
author of the elaborate report upon hot springs and geysers 
in the Hayden report of 1878. 

Jones Pass and Jones Creek are for Captain W. A. 


THE PARK NAMES 99 

Jones, who led an expedition into the Park from the east 
in 1873. 

Mt. Hoyt is for Hon. John W. Hoyt, who, as Governor 
of Wyoming Territory, made a reconnaissance into the 
Park in 1881. 

Mason CreeJc is in honor of Major J. W. Mason, who 
commanded Governor Hoyt’s escort. Both of the foregoing 
names were given by Colonel Norris. 

Gibbon River was named by Colonel Norris for General 
John Gibbon, who explored this stream in 1872. 

A few names have been given in recognition of scientific, 
literary, or other service to the Park. 

Bunsen Peak is for the eminent chemist and physicist, 
Robert Wilhelm Bunsen; inventor of the Bunsen electric 
cell and of the Bunsen gas burner; co-discoverer with 
Kirchoff of the principle of Spectrum Analysis; and the 
first thorough investigator of the phenomena of geyser 
action. 

Dunraven Peak was named by Henry Gannett for the 
Earl of Dunraven, “ whose travels and writings have done 
so much toward making this region known to our cousins 
across the water.” 

Dunraven visited the Park in 1874. In 1876, he pub¬ 
lished his “ Great Divide,” describing his travels in the 
West. Colonel Norris named this peak after himself, and 
coupled it with Mt. Washburn in a characteristic poem. 
But the United States Geological Survey decided other¬ 
wise, and transferred the Colonel’s name to the northeast 
corner of the Park. 

Mt. Moran, one of the Tetons, was named for Thomas 
Moran, whose paintings of the scenery of this region have 
done so much to make it known to the world. 

Mt. Norris , Norris Pass , and Norris Geyser Basin * are. 


* This basin was first explored, described, and opened up to 
tourists by Colonel Norris. It was, however, discovered in 
1872 by E. S. Topping and Dwight Woodruff, who were led in 



100 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of course, named for P. W. Norris, second Superintendent 
of the Park. Elsewhere we have given a sketch of the 
enthusiastic and loyal friend of the Park for whom these 
features were named. It was not the ColonePs fault that 
his name was restricted to so few places along the route of 
the tourist. 

Many of the personal names in the Park were given 
from motives of friendship or a desire to honor distin¬ 
guished officials. In several instances the persons so hon¬ 
ored never saw the Park. 

Abiathar Peak is for Charles Abiathar White, paleon¬ 
tologist, United States Geological Survey. 

Atkins Peak is for John D. C. Atkins, at one time 
United States Indian Commissioner. 

Mt. Schurz was named for the Secretary of the Interior 
under President Hayes. 

Lamar River is for the person who held the same port¬ 
folio under President Cleveland. 

Kepler Cascade was named by Colonel Norris for the 
twelve-year-old son of Governor Hoyt. 

Virginia Cascade is for the daughter of the late Charles 
Gibson, at one time President of the Yellowstone Park 
Association. 

Lake Eleanor, at the very summit of Sylvan Pass, is a 
little pond named for the daughter of General Chittenden. 

Isa Lake and Craig Pass, where the road first crosses the 
Continental Divide, are for the first tourists who visited 
these features. 

Mary Lake (and with it Mary Mountain) was named in 


that direction by noticing from the summit of Bunsen Peak a 
vast column of steam ascending to the southward. The day 
after this discovery, a tourist party, including a Mr. and Mrs. 
H. H. Stone, of Bozeman, Mont., visited it from Mammoth Hot 
Springs, and then continued their course, by way of the general 
line of the present route, to the Firehole Geyser Basin. Mrs. 
Stone was the first white woman to visit the Park. 




Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Tower Fall and Towers 
Height of the Fall, 132 feet 



































































THE PARK NAMES 


101 


1873, and a definite record of the christening has been left 
us by the Rev. E. J. Stanley: 

“ We passed along the bank of a lovely little lakelet, 
sleeping in seclusion in the shade of towering evergreens, 
by which it is sheltered from the roaring tempests. It is 
near the Divide, and on its pebbly shore some members of 
our party unfurled the Stars and Stripes, and christened 
it Mary’s Lake, in honor of Miss Clark, a young lady be¬ 
longing to our party.” 

Frank Island, in the Yellowstone Lake, is for the brother 
of Henry W. Elliott, a member of the Hayden Expedition 
of 1871. 

Mary Bay is for Mary Force, a sweetheart of another 
member of the same expedition. 

The Annie, first boat * on the Yellowstone Lake, was 
christened for Miss Anna L. Dawes, daughter of Hon. H. 
L. Dawes, at that time a Senator of the United States. 

The native tribes of the continent are remembered to a 
small extent in the nomenclature of the Park, as much, 
perhaps, as they ought to be considering their small con¬ 
nection with it. 

Absaroka Range is given for the Crow Indians, whose 
immemorial home, Absaroka, was in the valley of the Big 
Horn River at the eastern base of these mountains. The 
range was first known by the name Yellowstone, and in 
1873 was rechristened by Captain Jones, Sierra Shoshone. 
The present name was given by the U. S. Geological Survey 
about the year 1885. 

Bannock Peak, in the Gallatin Range, is from the name 
of a tribe of Indians who inhabited the country to the 
southwest of the Park, and were finally settled on a reserva¬ 
tion in southern Idaho. What is known as the Great Ban- 

* The frame and cover for this boat were brought from Salt 
Lake City and assembled at the lake. In the well-known picture 
of this historic craft, the persons in the boat are James Steven¬ 
son and Henry W. Elliott. 



102 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


nock Trail, passed along the valley of Indian Creek, some 
distance south of this mountain. The spelling here given 
is that which custom seems finally to have settled upon; 
but Bannack would more nearly express the original pro¬ 
nunciation. The various spellings, some sixteen in number, 
come from the original Panai J hti , or Bannai’hti, meaning 
southern people. 

Joseph Peak is for the famous chief of the Nez Perce In¬ 
dians, who made a forced tour of the Park in the year 1877. 

Sheepeater Cliffs were so named by Colonel Norris in 
commemoration of the only tribe of Indians that are 
known to have permanently dwelt in the Park. These 
cliffs are the magnificent walls of the Middle Gardiner 
Canyon below Osprey Falls. 

It was upon one of the “ ancient and but recently de¬ 
serted, secluded, unknown haunts ” of these Indians, that 
Colonel Norris, “ in rapt astonishment/’ stumbled one day, 
and was so impressed by what he saw, that he gave the 
neighboring cliff its present name. 

Indian Creek , a tributary of the Gardiner, is a stream 
along which ran the old Bannock Trail. 

Indian Pond describes a beautiful little sheet of water 
close to the north shore of the Yellowstone Lake. Its banks 
were a favorite camping ground for the Indians. 

Nez Perce Creek requires no explanation to those who 
have read the story of the flight of Chief Joseph and his 
braves up the valley of this stream in 1877. 

Shoshone, the name of a family of Indians that occupied 
the whole country south and southwest of the Park as far 
as to the Sierra Nevada, designates two natural features 
of the Park, Shoshone Lake and Shoshone River. The 
Lake, which is one of the sources of Snake River, was first 
named DeLacy Lake, after its discoverer. The Washburn 
Party (1870) appear to have named it after their leader. 
In 1871, Dr. Hayden, failing to identify its location, 
and believing it to be tributary to the Madison River, re¬ 
named it Madison Lake. It is this name which appears on 


THE PARK NAMES 


103 


the first map of the Park and in the Act of Dedication, 
where the west boundary of the Park is described as being 
“ fifteen miles west of the most western point of Madison 
Lake.” In 1872, when the correct drainage of the lake 
was discovered, the name “ Madison Lake ” was transferred 
to its present location (see “Madison Lake”), and its 
place supplied by “ Shoshone Lake.” The Act of Dedica¬ 
tion is therefore misleading, and it is necessary to know 
that “ Madison Lake ” of the Act, is “ Shoshone Lake ” 
now, in order to understand the true location of the west 
boundary of the Park.* 

Shoshone River received its first name, Stinkingwater, 
from John Colter, who so named it from a tar spring of 
very strong odor near the junction of the two forks of the 
stream. The river itself is one of the purest and most 
beautiful in the mountains, and the original name was so 
inappropriate that it has been changed to its present name 
by an Act of the Legislature of Wyoming. 

There are a few names which do not fall under any of 
the above classes and some which are eccentric and fanciful 
in character. 

Calfee and Miller Creelcs were named by Colonel Norris, 
and this is his record of the fact: 

“ Some seven miles above Cache Creek was passed the 
mouth of another stream in a deep, narrow, timbered valley, 
which we named Calfee Creek, after the famous photog¬ 
rapher of the Park. Five miles further on, we reached 
the creek which Miller recognized as the one he descended 
in retreating from the Indians in 1870, and which, on this 
account, we called Miller’s Creek.” 

Cache CreeJc was so named from the following circum¬ 
stance: A prospecting party under one Austin were in 
camp on this stream when they were surprised by Indians, 
and all their stock stolen except one or two mules. Being 


* Page 250, Sixth Annual Report of Dr. Hayden. 



104 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


unable to carry all their baggage from this point, they 
cached what they conld not place on the mules, or could 
not themselves carry. 

Crevice, Hellroaring, and Slough Creeks, all names of 
tributaries of the Yellowstone River from the mountains 
along the north border of the Park, are survivals of the 
early prospecting days in this region. Topping, in his 
“ Chronicles of the Yellowstone,” thus records the circum¬ 
stances of their origin: 

“ They [a prospecting party] found gold in a crevice at 
the mouth of the first stream above Bear, and named it, 
in consequence. Crevice Gulch. Hubbel went ahead the 
next day for a hunt, and upon his return he was asked 
what kind of a stream the next creek was. f It’s a hell 
roarer,’ was his reply, and Hell Roaring is its name to this 
day. The second day after this, he was again ahead, and, 
the same question being asked him, he said: ‘ ’Twas but 
a slough.’ When the party came to it, they found a 
rushing torrent, and, in crossing, a pack horse and his 
load were swept away, but the name of Slough Creek 
remains.” 

Boone Creek was named prior to 1870, for Robert With¬ 
row, an eccentric pioneer of Irish descent, who used to call 
himself “ Daniel Boone the Second.” 

Solution Creek is the outlet of Riddle Lake. 

Surprise Creek was so named because its course, as made 
known by official explorations, was surprisingly different 
from what it had before been supposed to be. 

Delusion Lake was long believed to be a part of the 
Yellowstone Lake—its index “ finger ” in the fanciful re¬ 
semblance of the lake to the human hand. This delusion 
was cleared away by official explorations. 

Riddle Lake is thus accounted for by Professor Bradley, 
of the United States Geological Survey: 

“ ‘ Lake Riddle ’ is a fugitive name, which has been lo¬ 
cated at several places, but nowhere permanently. It is 
supposed to have been used originally to designate the 


THE PARK NAMES 


105 


mythical lake, among the mountains, whence, according to 
the hunters, water flowed to both oceans. I have agreed to 
Mr. Hering’s proposal to attach the name to this lake, 
which is directly upon the divide at a point where the 
waters of the two oceans start so nearly together, and thus 
to solve the unsolved f riddle * of the ‘ two-ocean-water / ” 

This was a year before Captain Jones verified the exist¬ 
ence of Two-Ocean-Pass. 

This completes the list of personal names in the Park, 
and it now remains to note a few of the more important 
that we have classed as characteristic—names expressive of 
the form, color, composition, or other peculiarity of the 
object named. 

Cinnabar Mountain , a prominent feature near the 
northern entrance to the Park, was “ so named from the 
color of its rocks, which have been mistaken for Cinnabar, 
although the red color is due to iron.”;—Hayden. The 
Devil's Slide (also named before 1870) is on this mountain. 

The Dome, named, of course, from its form, is a con¬ 
spicuous peak of the Gallatin Range. 

Electric Peak, the highest mountain in the Park, re¬ 
ceived its name from the following circumstance, described 
by Mr. Henry Gannett, who ascended the mountain with 
surveying instruments, July 26, 1872: 

“A thunder-shower was approaching as we neared the 
summit of the mountain. I was above the others of the 
party, and, when about fifty feet below the summit, the 
electric current began to pass through my body. At first 
I felt nothing, but heard a crackling noise, similar to a 
rapid discharge of sparks from a friction machine. Im¬ 
mediately after, I began to feel a tingling or pricking sensa¬ 
tion in my head and the end of my fingers, which, as well 
as the noise, increased rapidly, until, when I reached the 
top, the noise, which had not changed its character, was 
deafening, and my hair stood completely on end, while the 
tingling, pricking sensation was absolutely painful. Tak- 


106 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

mg off my hat partially relieved me. I started down 
again, and met the others twenty-five or thirty feet below 
the summit. They were affected similarly, but in a less 
degree. One of them attempted to go to the top, but had 
proceeded but a few feet when he received quite a severe 
shock, which felled him as if he had stumbled. We then 
returned down the mountain about three hundred feet, and 
to this point we still heard and felt the electricity.” 

Elephant Back was so named “ on account of the almost 
vertical sides of this mountain, and the rounded form of 
the summit.”—Hayden. 

This name, as now applied, refers to a different feature 
from that originally designated by it. Many years before 
the Park was discovered, it was used to denote the long 
ridge of which Mt. Washburn is the commanding summit, 
and which was distinctly visible from beyond the present 
limits of the Park, both north and south. 

Factory Hill. —The term “ factory ” has at various times 
been applied to several different localities in the Park, 
because of their striking resemblance on frosty mornings 
to an active factory town. The resemblance was noted as 
far back as 1829. The name has now become fixed on a 
northern foothill of Mt. Sheridan. 

Index Peak and Pilot Knob are two imposing summits 
near the northeast corner of the Park, and received 
their names before 1870. “ One of them derives its name 
from its shape,—like a closed hand with the index-finger 
extending upward, while the other is visible from so great 
a distance on every side that it forms an excellent land¬ 
mark for the wandering miner, and thus its appropriate 
name of Pilot Knob.”—Hayden. 

Roaring Mountain “ takes its name from the shrill, pene¬ 
trating sound of the stream constantly escaping from one 
or more vents near the summit.”—Hague. 

Sepulcher Mountain is so called from the striking fea¬ 
ture on its northern slope which resembles a tomb or sepul¬ 
cher with a prominent footstone and headstone. 


THE PARK NAMES 


107 


The Teton Mountains were named by the French trap¬ 
pers as early as 1811 from the fancied resemblance of 
these peaks, when seen from a distance, to the nipple of 
the human breast. The name is now nearly a century old 
and has passed into all the literature describing that coun¬ 
try, particularly that of its fur trade era, the most romantic 
and fascinating in western history. Indeed, it has become 
the classic designation of the most interesting historic 
summit of the Rocky Mountains. That it should always 
retain this designation in memory of the nameless pioneers 
who have been guided by it across the wilderness, and manj 
of whom have perished beneath its shadow, would seem 
to be a self-evident proposition. Individual merit, no 
matter how great, can never justify the usurpation of its 
place by any personal name whatever. An attempt to do 
this was made in 1872 by the United States Geological 
Survey who rechristened it Mt. Hayden. The new name 
has never gained any local standing, and although it has 
crept into many maps, its continued use ought to be dis¬ 
couraged. It is greatly to the credit of Dr. Hayden that 
he personally disapproved the change, so far at least, as 
very rarely, if ever, to refer to the mountain by its new 
name. 

Firehole River is a name the origin of which has here¬ 
tofore apparently been misunderstood. It dates from back 
as far as 1830, when the valley was called by the trappers 
“ Burnt Hole,” from a great forest fire which had recently 
swept over it, the traces of which are distinctly visible at 
the present day. The record on this point is definite and 
conclusive. 

Atlantic and Pacific Creeks flow out of Two-Ocean Pass, 
where a mountain stream divides, sending its waters 
through these streams to the two oceans. 

Outlet Creek was the outlet of Yellowstone Lake when it 
was a tributary of the Columbia River. 

Pelican Creek very properly designates a stream the 
mouth of which, on the north shore of the Yellowstone 


108 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Lake, is a great resort for this particular species of bird. 
Pelican Roost is an island near by. 

Soda Butte Creek is so named from an extinct geyser, 
or hot spring mound, near the mouth of that stream. 

Tangled Creek, in the Lower Geyser Basin, is a most 
appropriate name. The stream is a perfect network of 
separate channels which cross and recross and interlace 
with each other in the most confusing fashion. 

Violet Creek, in Hayden Valley, is bordered with dense 
growths of the wild violet. 

Tower Falls was named by the Washburn party, and this 
is their record of the fact and the reason therefor: 

“ By a vote of a majority of the party this fall was called 
Tower Fall.”—Washburn. 

“At the crest of the fall the stream has cut its way 
through amygdaloid masses, leaving tall spires of rock 
from 50 to 100 feet in height, and worn in every conceiva¬ 
ble shape. . . . Several of them stand like sentinels on 
the very brink of the fall.”—Doane. 

Sylvan Lake is not surpassed by any name in the Park 
in point of fitness. No finer example of sylvan scenery 
can be found anywhere than that embracing this exquisite 
sheet of water. 

National Park Mountain, commemorative of the origin 
of the Yellowstone Park project, stands at the junction 
of the Firehole and Gibbon Rivers, directly opposite a camp 
site of the Washburn Expedition, where, on September 19, 
1870, Cornelius Hedges suggested that the region be set 
apart as a national park. 

Mount Haynes in Madison Canyon was named in 1922 
in honor of Frank Jay Haynes, pioneer Park photographer 
and president of the Yellowstone-Western Stage Company 
who was in the Park forty seasons. 

Cook Peak near Folsom Peak was named in honor of 
Charles W. Cook early pioneer of Montana and member of 
the Folsom-Cook party which explored the Yellowstone 
region in 1869. Mount Haynes and Cook Peak were named 
at the request of Superintendent H. M. Albright. 


CHAPTER XIV 


ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OP THE PARK 

T HE Louisiana Purchase in 1803 vested ownership and 
jurisdiction over the Yellowstone National Park 
region in the United States of America. When the Park 
was formally established by the Act of Congress approved 
by President Grant on March 1, 1872, it remained under 
the exclusive control of the Federal Government; and, 
when the states in which it lies were later admitted into 
the Union, and accorded jurisdiction over all lands within 
their borders, a special exception was made of the Park, 
and so today, it is still exclusively under the jurisdiction of 
the Government at Washington. 

The Act of Dedication of the Park defines in simple 
terms the purposes for which it was created. These are : 
the preservation of its natural curiosities, its forests and 
wild animals; the reservation of its territory from private 
occupancy, so that it may remain in unrestricted freedom, 
“For the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” It au¬ 
thorizes such leases and other privileges as may be neces¬ 
sary for the comfort and convenience of visitors, but con¬ 
tained no code of laws for the Park defining offenses and 
providing for their punishment, nor any legal machinery 
for enforcing such regulations as the Secretary of the In¬ 
terior might establish, which condition obtained for up¬ 
wards of twenty-two years. 

Another handicap of the early administration of the 
park was a scarcity of funds, the promoters of the Park 
project having based extravagant expectations upon the 
results to be derived from leases. They did not 
make due allowance for the fact that there was 
at that time no railroad within 500 miles; that the 


109 


110 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


new reservation was an almost impassable wilderness, and 
that the construction of roads and bridges must necessarily 
precede any profitable tourist business. Neither do they 
seem to have realized that these leases could not, in the 
nature of things, yield a revenue commensurate with the 
work of opening up so wild and extensive a country. The 
argument of self-support was a mistaken one. It did an 
important work, however, for it is doubtful if Congress 
would have created this reservation had it not believed that 
no additional public burden was to be incurred thereby. * 

Left thus without laws for its government and funds 
for its improvement or protection, the early administra¬ 
tion of the Park was necessarily very inefficient. In look¬ 
ing back over those years it is a wonder that it survived 
at all. 

The administration of the Park was entrusted by the 
Secretary of the Interior to a Superintendent, and his first 
choice naturally fell upon Mr. Langford, well known as a 
member of the Washburn Expedition and for his work in 
securing the passage of the Act of Dedication. But, from 
the first, his hands were completely tied. No salary was 
allowed him for his services, nor any funds with which to 
carry out his duties. He was, therefore, powerless to ac¬ 
complish effective work. His office, which he held for 
about five years, was a source of great annoyance to him; 
for he was frequently, and most unjustly, charged in the 
public press with responsibility for a condition of things 
for which he was in no sense to blame. 

In 1877, there appeared, as Mr. Langford’s successor, 
one of the unique and picturesque characters in the history 
of the Park, Philetus W. Norris, of Michigan. He was 
appointed upon the advent of the Hayes administration, 
and held office for nearly five years. Norris filled with 
varying capacity the roles of explorer, path-finder, poet, and 
historian in the Park. Endowed with extraordinary energy, 
he entered upon his new charge with genuine enthusiasm 
and unbounded faith in its future value to the people. He 


ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 111 


was fortunate in receiving from Congress substantial means 
for carrying out his plans, and with his term of service 
begins the real administrative history of the Park. 

His work covered an extensive range, and left its mark, 
as its author did his name, in every quarter. He was an 
untiring explorer. He traveled all the existing trails and 
penetrated the unfrequented sections in every direction. 
He studied the history and antiquities of the Park. He 
built the first roads, opening a vast extent of highway, 
and although this has all been replaced by later work, it 
served its original purpose very well. He wrote and pub¬ 
lished a great deal about the Park and helped revive public 
interest in it at the time of its greatest need. 

Norris was succeeded in February, 1882, by Patrick A. 
Conger, of Iowa. The two men were as unlike in personal 
characteristics and views of official duty as it is possible 
to conceive. Conger possessed none of the love of his 
work, none of the faith in the Park, none of the enthusiasm, 
energy, and restless activity that were so characteristic of 
his predecessor. His administration was weak and inef¬ 
ficient and brought the Park to the lowest ebb of its for¬ 
tunes. Its only palliating feature, as viewed from this 
distance, is the fact that its very weakness aroused public 
sentiment and paved the way to reform. 

As if the unfortunate condition of affairs due to the 
lack of suitable laws for the reservation were not enough, 
there arose in the early part of Superintendent Conger’s 
administration an even more formidable danger, under the 
euphemistic title of the Yellowstone Park Improvement 
Company. Previous to this time, there had been no regular 
leases in the Park. Several informal permits for occupancy 
had been granted, and a small number of inferior build¬ 
ings had been erected. In 1880, there were nine of these 
buildings, nearly all of them being plain log-cabins, with 
earth roofs, of the common frontier pattern. Only two, 
the headquarters building at Mammoth Hot Springs and 
Marshall’s Hotel in the Lower Geyser Basin, rose in dignity 


112 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


above the primitive type. No one as yet thought of remain¬ 
ing in the Park during the winter season. 

But it finally dawned upon certain individuals that here 
was a rare opportunity to exploit the government for their 
private emolument under the generous guise of improving 
the Park and catering to the comfort of the tourist. A 
company was formed, and a valuable ally secured in the 
person of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, who 
granted a lease of 4,400 acres in tracts of about a square 
mile each at all the principal points of interest. It was 
urged in defense of this sweeping grant, that the protec¬ 
tion which had failed of realization by every other method 
could be secured in this way. It was argued that, if re¬ 
sponsible parties could be given exclusive control of these 
natural curiosities, they would, from motives of self-in¬ 
terest, if from no other, preserve them. But such a 
monopolistic privilege was clearly opposed to the spirit of 
the Act of Dedication. Why set apart this region for the 
free and unrestricted enjoyment of the people, if the Secre¬ 
tary of the Interior could give to private parties absolute 
control of all its most important localities? Was this 
a proper interpretation of “ small parcels of ground,” as 
specified in the act ? The danger involved was a grave one, 
and it aroused a storm of protest throughout the country. 

It was about this time also that there began to appear 
those various railroad and segregation projects which later 
became a formidable menace to the integrity of the Park. 

It had become apparent as early as 1882 that immediate 
and radical measures must be adopted if the Park was to 
be preserved in its original condition. General Sheridan, 
who passed through that region in 1881, 1882, and 1883, 
urgently appealed to the public sentiment of the country 
in favor of some definite action. The Governor of Mon¬ 
tana made an earnest appeal to Congress. Other influ¬ 
ential voices united in the same cause. The whole matter 
was brought before the next Congress, and in March, 1883, 
a clause in the Sundry Civil Bill containing the annual 


ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 113 


appropriation for the Park, forbade the granting of leases 
of more than ten acres to any single party, authorized the 
Secretary of the Interior to call upon the Secretary of 
War for troops to patrol the Park, and provided for the 
employment of ten assistant superintendents who were to 
constitute a police force. In this way the bold scheme of 
the Improvement Company was frustrated, and the founda¬ 
tion laid for the present administrative system. The Secre¬ 
tary of the Interior, however, seems not to have wished to 
avail himself of military assistance, and it was several 
years before this provision of the law was put into opera¬ 
tion. 

It was in this same year that the killing of birds and 
animals in the Park, and the taking of fish by any other 
method than by hook and line, were prohibited. Previ¬ 
ously, hunting had been allowed so far as was necessary 
to supply the wants of camping parties—a concession that 
practically operated as an unrestricted license. 

The failure of Congress to enact needed legislation at 
length became so nearly chronic that relief was sought in 
another direction. Nearly all the territory of the Park, 
and all its great attractions, were within the limits of the 
Territory of Wyoming. Might it not be within the prov¬ 
ince of territorial legislation to furnish the necessary legal 
protection? The subject was agitated, and in the winter 
of 1884, an act was passed, designed “to protect and pre¬ 
serve the timber, game, fish, and natural curiosities of 
the Park,” and for other purposes. The act was stringent 
in its provisions, but totally failed of its purpose. The 
attempt at territorial control of a national institution was 
in itself a mistake. Then, the officials chosen to execute 
the law were poorly qualified for their work and displayed 
a lamentable want of tact and moderation. Some of their 
arrests were unjust and tyrannical in the extreme. They 
formed an alliance with the assistant superintendents (fed¬ 
eral officials known in local parlance as “ rabbit catchers ”), 
by which the latter shared, as informers, the fines levied 


114 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


by themselves. A law which made abuses like this possible 
quickly ran its course, and was repealed March 10, 1886. 

Although so unwise a measure could not stand, the first 
effect of its repeal was to advertise the fact that the Park 
was practically without legal protection. Matters became 
even worse than before. The common verdict, as gathered 
from official reports and other sources, is that the body of 
police, styled assistant superintendents, were not only 
inefficient, but positively corrupt. They were, for the most 
part, creatures of political favoritism, and were totally 
unused to the service required of them. Commissioned as 
guardians of the rarest natural wonders on the globe, they 
not infrequently made merchandise of the treasures which 
they were appointed to preserve. Under their surveillance, 
vandalism was practically unchecked, and the slaughter of 
game was carried on for private "profit almost in sight of 
the superintendents’ quarters. 

The difficulties which beset the administration of Super¬ 
intendent Conger were too great for him to grapple with 
successfully, and he resigned, July 28, 1884. In his place 
was appointed, August 4, 1884, Robert E. Carpenter, of 
Iowa. Mr. Carpenter’s views of the requirements of his 
office were clear and positive; and he promptly set about 
to carry them into execution. He went upon the theory 
that the Park was created as an instrument of profit to 
those who were shrewd enough to grasp the opportunity. 
Its protection and improvement were matters of secondary 
consideration. Instead of remaining at his post during the 
winter season, he went to Washington, and there, in co¬ 
operation with a member of the Improvement Company, 
very nearly succeeded in carrying a measure through Con¬ 
gress by which important tracts upon the Reservation were 
to be thrown open to private occupancy. So confident of 
success were these conspirators that they even located 
claims upon the tracts in question, and their names ap¬ 
peared on notices posted to designate the localities. The 
measure failed of passage, but the scandal of Superin- 


ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 115 

tendent Carpenter’s conduct led to his prompt removal 
from office. 

On the day of his removal, May 29, 1885, Colonel David 
W. Wear, of Missouri, was appointed to the vacancy. 
Colonel Wear appears to have been well qualified for the 
place. He set out to reform the administration of the 
Park, and his intelligent and vigorous measures gave en¬ 
couragement to those who had been familiar with the previ¬ 
ous condition of affairs.* But, as often happens, he was 
made to suffer for the sins of his predecessors. The bad 
repute into which the government of the Park had fallen 
was not easily removed, and Congress finally declined to 
appropriate money for its continuance. The Secretary of 
the Interior was thus compelled to call upon the Secretary 
of War for assistance. The regime of civilian superin¬ 
tendents passed away, for the time, and that of the military 
superintendents began. The change was opposed by the 
Secretary of the Interior and by all who held or hoped to 
hold places under the old order; but the sequel proved the 
wisdom of the policy. 

August 20, 1886, marked a turning point in the admin¬ 
istrative history of the Park. Upon that day Captain 
Moses Harris, First United States Cavalry, relieved the 
civilian Superintendent of his duties, and military authority 
supplanted the so-called assistant superintendents as Park 
police. Henceforth a new order was to obtain. It was to 
be seen how much could be accomplished, even in the 
absence of laws, toward a vigorous and healthful adminis¬ 
tration. Trespassers upon the Reservation were promptly 
removed. The regulations were revised and extended, 
printed upon cloth, and posted in all parts of the Park; 
and their violation was visited with summary punishment 
to the full extent of the Superintendent’s authority. 


* This commendation of Colonel Wear has been criticised by 
several contemporaries in the Park who do not consider that the 
methods of this Superintendent were any improvement upon those 
of his immediate predecessors. 



116 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Abuses of leasehold rights were inquired into and reported 
to the Department. As soon as this show of real authority 
was made manifest, and it became apparent that here was 
a man who meant what he said, a great part of the dif¬ 
ficulty was over. Nothing conduces so much to the infrac¬ 
tion of law as a belief in the incompetency or insincerity 
of those delegated to enforce it, and the removal of this 
cause was a long step in the right direction. 

The system thus inaugurated still continues, although 
Congress has never taken any further steps to make it 
permanent. The military commander is still styled the 
Acting Superintendent. The administrative machinery has 
completely adjusted itself to the present system. A gar¬ 
rison of sufficient size to accommodate a squadron of cav¬ 
alry has been established at Mammoth Hot Springs, and 
numerous permanent station houses have been built 
throughout the Park for the use of small detachments in 
patrolling the Reservation. The system, however, is op¬ 
posed in certain quarters and may eventually be aban¬ 
doned.* 

The new Hotel Company had a meteoric career, prom¬ 
ising great things, but accomplishing no permanent im¬ 
provement except the partial construction of a pretentious 
but ill-conceived structure, which has become widely known 
as the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The company’s for¬ 
tunes quickly collapsed, and the opening of the tourist 
season of 1885 found the great building in the possession 
of unpaid workmen, who held it under a kind of military 
guard until their wages should be paid. 

The Northern Pacific Railway Company then came to 
the rescue, bought out the Improvement Company and cer¬ 
tain lesser concerns, and organized a new company called 
the Yellowstone Park Association. This company com¬ 
pleted the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, and has since 

* See Chapter XII, Part II, for recent innovation in the admin¬ 
istration of the national parks and of the Yellowstone Park in 
particular. 








Old Faithful Inn and Automobile Stages, Upper Geyser Basin 


















ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 117 


built hotels at the following points: Norris Geyser Basin, 
three buildings, two of which have been destroyed by fire; 
Lower Geyser Basin, the Fountain Hotel; Upper Geyser 
Basin, two buildings, one of which has been destroyed by 
fire; and one hotel each at the Yellowstone Lake and the 
Grand Canyon. 

At first the carrying of tourists through the Park was 
an adjunct of the hotel business, but in 1891 the Interior 
Department granted this privilege to a new company called 
the Yellowstone Park Transportation Company, and the 
two companies operated thereafter for many years as inde¬ 
pendent concerns. The transportation system of the Park, 
which has now developed into the best equipped organiza¬ 
tion of its kind in the world, was, in its essential features, 
the creation of Silas S. Huntley, w r ho gave it his undivided 
attention from 1892 until 1901, the date of his death. By 
virtue of his wide acquaintance throughout the country, 
his intimate knowledge of the Park, and his genuine inter¬ 
est in its welfare, he practically controlled its administra¬ 
tion for many years. 

In 1901, the Northern Pacific sold the hotel property to 
the owners of the Transportation Company, and the two 
businesses were operated under the same management. 
In the fall of 1902 the Railway Company took back its 
hotel property and bought an interest in the Transportation 
Company, which at that time virtually controlled the tour¬ 
ist business of the Park. Before the motorization of the 
Yellowstone in 1917, however, the Yellowstone-Western 
Stage Company was one of the largest transportation lines. 
Again it sold its interests to the Hotel and Transportation 
companies and for the past few years has been nominally 
free of participation in Park affairs. 

When Mr. Huntley died, his partner, Mr. H. W. Child, 
succeeded to the management of this business, the control 
of which he relinquished in 1917. In a later chapter more 
extended reference will be made to his conspicuous success 
in the administration of an intricate and difficult enter- 


118 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


prise. In some respects his work has become an important 
feature of the attractions of the Park. 

Oldest in service of the able business men whom the 
Park has developed is Frank J. Haynes, first official Park 
photographer, who has been President of the Yellow¬ 
stone and Western Stage Company. Mr. Haynes first went 
to the Park in 1881, and for many years thereafter his 
chief activity there was the exploitation of his photographs 
of Park attractions. These photographs have gone all over 
the world and have probably done more than any other 
agency to spread a knowledge of that region. In 1898 Mr. 
Haynes extended his activities into a new field and became 
the leading spirit in organizing a company to transport 
tourists from Monida on the Utah Northern (Union 
Pacific) Railroad seventy miles west of the Park. From 
a small beginning this enterprise gradually increased, and 
when the Union Pacific built up to the boundary of the 
Park on the west side, thereby cutting off two-thirds of 
the stage route to the nearest Park hotel, the business 
sprang to a volume which soon rivaled that of the Northern 
entrance. Mr. Haynes retired from the Park business in 
1917. 

Another notable development of the Park transportation 
and hotel business is that long conducted by an organiza¬ 
tion known from its founder, W. W. Wylie, as the Wylie 
Permanent Camping Company. Mr. Wylie commenced 
this business as early as 1883, with ten-day tours in port¬ 
able camps. Later he made these camps “ permanent ” in 
location—practically hotels under canvas—and this system 
has since been known as the Wylie Permanent Camps. 
By its novelty and cheaper rates it attracts a large busi¬ 
ness and fills a genuine need of the traveling public. 

Naturally enough, the Yellowstone Lake has played a 
considerable part in the tourist business of the Park. About 
the year 1890, the privilege was granted of transporting 
tourists by boat over the Lake between two points on its 
shores touched by the road system. The beneficiary of 


ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 119 


this privilege, which has been of an exclusive or monopo¬ 
listic character, was for many years Mr. E. C. Waters, 
President and principal owner of the Yellowstone Lake 
Boat Company. Mr. Waters’ conduct of this business 
was uniformly unsatisfactory both to the public and to 
the Park administration, but he succeeded in holding 
his concession until 1907, when it was transferred to 
T. Elwood Hofer, famous the country over as “ Billy” 
Hofer, the Yellowstone guide and conductor of hunt¬ 
ing parties. The enterprise has now been practically 
abandoned. 

The year 1894 was an important landmark in the admin¬ 
istrative history of the Park. On May 7, of that year, the 
desired code of laws was enacted, and on August 3, of 
the same year, an act was passed further regulating the 
question of leases and privileges. The circumstances 
attending the passage of the National Park Protective 
Act are worthy of record, because it was evidently 
their sensational character that aroused Congress to 
action. 

The preservation of the Park buffalo herd has always 
been a matter of deep public interest. There is a well-nigh 
universal desire that this noble animal, which has played 
such a part in the frontier history of our country, shall 
survive in its native freedom within the territory set apart 
as a national park and game preserve. Accordingly the 
people have followed with extreme jealousy the welfare of 
this herd, and have been impatient at any evidence of 
neglect on the part of Congress or the Department in 
protecting it. 

In the month of March, 1894, a notorious poacher was 
caught by a government scout in the act of killing buffalo 
in their winter range in the Pelican Valley. Quite a 
number of slain buffalo were found—enough to show that, 
with a little more time, he would have exterminated the 
herd altogether. The arrest of this man was a bold and 
thrilling exploit, and was executed with brilliant success. 


120 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


There was present in the Park at the time a representative 
of Forest and Stream , a journal which has always been one 
of the Park’s most enthusiastic guardians, and through this 
agency the news was promptly and effectively brought to 
the attention of Congress. The imminent danger of total 
annihilation of the herd produced the desired effect, and 
within a month the long-sought legislation had been 
effected.* 

The history of the Park road system dates almost from 
the beginning of the Park. In his first annual report, 
1872, Superintendent Langford presented an outline of 
what was urgently needed and asked Congress for an ap¬ 
propriation. But nothing was done until 1877, when, as 
already narrated, Congress began giving money for the 
Park. During the five years of the Norris regime some 
$70,000 was appropriated, the larger portion of which was 
expended in road building. Norris opened up a great 
extent of country, but the work was of very primitive char¬ 
acter and has all since been replaced. 

To give this work systematic direction, it was placed 
under the Corps of Engineers of the Army in 1883, Cap¬ 
tain D. C. Kingman being the first officer detailed for the 
purpose. His term of duty lasted three years and resulted 
in laying the foundation of the present road system. The 
work continued with annual appropriations varying from 
$30,000 to $75,000 until about 1899, when the allowances 
were increased, culminating in an authorization of 
$750,000 for the three years 1902-5. With this sum and 
less amounts immediately before and after, in all aggre¬ 
gating upward of a million dollars, the road system, as it 
exists to-day, was worked out. 

The work until 1916 was in charge of the Corps of 
Engineers except from 1894 to 1898. 

* This was during the administration of Captain (now Briga¬ 
dier General) George S. Anderson, U. S. Army, one of the most 
popular of all the Park superintendents. He filled this position 
from 1891 to 1897. His energetic interest in his work was a 
great aid in carrying through the measure described above. 



ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY OF THE PARK 121 


The policy of the Government has been to maintain 
this Reservation as nearly as possible in its natural con¬ 
dition. Attempts were made to get railroads across its 
territory—a very formidable danger. The names of the 
late Senator George Graham Vest, the late William Hal- 
lett Phillips, and George Bird Grinnell stand out most 
prominently among the early defenders of the Park. 

On July 1, 1918, all road work was transferred from 
the Corps of Engineers of the Army to the National 
Park Service; and all park activities transferred to the 
jurisdiction of the Park Superintendent. 

Note by J. E. Haynes: In 1919, certain irrigation interests 
in Idaho succeeded in getting permission from Secretary 
Franklin K. Lane of the Interior Department, to survey 
Lake Yellowstone, Heart, (Shoshone and Lewis Lakes, and the 
Bechler and Falls River Basins in the southwest corner of the 
park with a view to building dams and storing water for irri¬ 
gation of arid lands in Idaho. This permission was granted 
over the vigorous protests of the officers of the National Park 
Service, who have always steadfastly adhered to the policy, 
underlying the original establishment of the park, that this 
great playground must be forever preserved from any form of 
commercialization. 

Subsequently, in the spring of 1920, the U. S. Senate passed 
a bill authorizing the construction of a great reservoir in the 
Bechler River basin, and a smaller reservoir in the Falls River 
region. This bill had the approval of Secretary Lane, but 
this officer resigned on February 29, 1920, and he was suc¬ 
ceeded by Hon. John Barton Payne, who immediately reversed 
the policy of the Department, and ordered an adverse report 
on the pending measure. The bill never passed the House of 
Representatives. 

In the autumn of 1920, Senator Whlsh, of Montana, intro¬ 
duced bills providing for the construction of a dam at the 
outlet of Lake Yellowstone, and for the generation of power 
in connection with the maintenance of the irrigation reservoir 
that would be created by the building of the dam. It was 
contended that the dam would prevent disastrous floods, would 
irrigate 300,000 acres of land in Montana, and would actually 
“improve” the park! Extensive hearings were held by the 
Senate 'Committee on Irrigation, where the bills were opposed 
by Secretary Payne, Director Stephen T. Mather, Supt. Horace 
M. Albright, Chief Civil Engineer G. E. Goodwin, of the Na¬ 
tional Park Service, and a score of representatives of con¬ 
servation organizations. The bills died in Committee, and 
although they are still being introduced in each succeeding 
Congress, national sentiment is now aroused to such a high 
pitch that there is little likelihood of the bills ever being 
favorably considered. 



CHAPTER XV 


HOSTILE INDIANS IN THE PARK 

I N a letter dated at Fort Ellis, Montana Territory, 
August 19, 1877, addressed to the Hon. George W. 
McCreary, Secretary of War, the writer. General W. T. 
Sherman, then on a tour of inspection of the “ country 
north of the Union Pacific Railroad,” tells of his recent 
visit to the Yellowstone Park. This was about the period 
when our Indian wars in the Far West were at their height. 
Only a year had elapsed since the Custer massacre. It 
was the crisis of the Indian military question. There 
was at that time scarcely a spot in the whole Missouri and 
Yellowstone Valleys that was safe from Indian depreda¬ 
tions. Naturally, therefore, General Sherman had his mind 
upon this subject when his small party, comparatively 
unprotected, were traveling through the wilds of the Na¬ 
tional Park. But he saw nothing there to excite his fears, 
and in the letter above referred to, says: “ We saw no signs 
of Indians and felt at no moment more sense of danger 
than we do here.” It will presently be seen how delusive 
was this fancied security, and by how narrow a margin it 
escaped resulting disastrously to the General’s party. 

The tour from Fort Ellis to the Park and return had 
taken from August 4th to August 18th. On the latter 
date they met an ingoing company of tourists from Helena 
who, after following the usual route to the Canyon and 
Falls of the Yellowstone, went into camp in that vicinity 
August 24th. Only the day before, another party—from 
Radersburg, Mont.—was on the point of leaving the Park 
after a tour of about two weeks. They had been in camp 
in the Lower Geyser Basin and must have been seen 
by General Sherman and his party, for they were directly 
in his route. 


122 


HOSTILE INDIANS IN THE PARK 123 

In order to understand the unfortunate turn which the 
affairs of these two tourist parties were about to take, it 
will be necessary to explain, in briefest outline, the cause 
and previous incidents of one of the most remarkable 
Indian campaigns in our history. 

From the time of Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce In¬ 
dians had dwelt in what are now the States of Oregon, 
Washington, and Idaho. Their territory extended from 
the Salmon River on the south to the Palouse River on 
the north, and from the Bitter Root Mountains westward 
into the present States of Idaho and Washington. In 1855 
they ceded to the United States a part of their territory, 
and the principal bands located in the several portions of 
the remainder. In 1860, gold was discovered on the reser¬ 
vation and the usual gold rush followed. The danger of a 
conflict with the Indians became so great that a temporary 
arrangement, pending action by the government, was 
made between them and their Indian agent, opening a por¬ 
tion of the reservation “ to the whites in common with the 
Indians for mining purposes.” 

But the settlers did not stop with these concessions. In 
defiance of law, they built the town of Lewiston on the 
reservation, and gave other proofs of their project for 
permanent occupancy. It soon became necessary for the 
government to take some decisive step, and this was accom¬ 
plished in 1863 by a new treaty in which the Indians relin¬ 
quished three of their most important valleys, the Wallowa, 
the Alpowai, and the Salmon River. 

This treaty was far from receiving the general assent 
of all the chiefs. A formidable faction, headed by Chiefs 
Joseph, Looking Glass, Big Thunder, White Bird, and 
others, refused to be bound by it and were henceforth 
referred to in official reports as the “ Non-treaty Nez 
Perces.” For a time the authorities made no effort to en¬ 
force the new treaty, and the Indians were “ tacitly per¬ 
mitted to roam ” over their ancient hunting-grounds. 

This condition of affairs continued for thirteen years, 


124 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


with various efforts in the meantime to arrive at some sat¬ 
isfactory settlement. Finally, in 1876, a civil and military 
commission was appointed to visit the Nez Perces to ex¬ 
amine into their grievances, and to determine what meas¬ 
ures were necessary for a permanent settlement of the 
question. The report * of this Commission is interesting, 
both for the facts it relates in regard to the tribal life and 
characteristics of these Indians, and for the heroic treat¬ 
ment of existing troubles which it recommended. The Com¬ 
mission advised that, although the government had per¬ 
mitted the treaty of 1863 to be ignored by the Indians 
ever since it was signed, it was still a valid treaty, perhaps 
the best that could be devised to meet the existing condi¬ 
tions, and that it should be enforced—by military aid, if 
necessary. The recommendation was approved, and to Gen¬ 
eral 0. 0. Howard fell the task of putting the Indians on 
their proper reservation. 

For a time it seemed that they would be induced to 
submit without resort to force; but just as success was 
apparently assured, the Indians murdered some twenty 
white men, women, and children, in revenge for one of 
their number killed the previous year. Peaceful negotia¬ 
tions came at once to an end, and the military authorities 
assumed control of the situation. This was June 13, 1877. 

Between that date and July 12th, three battles were 
fought, in which both sides suffered severely, and the 
Indians displayed extraordinary fighting ability. They 
then left their country—as it proved, not to return—and 
set out across the mountains to their oft-visited “buffalo 
country,” in the Judith Basin, far to the eastward of the 
Upper Missouri. 

But their route lay too close to the military post of Fort 
Missoula and to the towns in the more thickly settled por¬ 
tions of Montana. To avoid these they bore off to the 
southward, through a country with whose people they were 
well acquainted, and with whom they had often traded in 

* See Report of Secretary of the Interior, 1877, part 1, p. 607. 



HOSTILE INDIANS IN THE PARK 


125 


previous excursions to the buffalo country. Here they 
found friends and obtained the supplies they needed. 

In the meantime, General Gibbon, with a small force, 
which he had gathered from Forts Benton, Shaw, and Mis¬ 
soula, and from volunteers among Montana citizens, was 
in close pursuit. He overtook the Indians on the Big Hole 
River, in Southwestern Montana, where a desperate battle 
ensued, in which his own force was severely handled. 

The Indians then passed south into Idaho, with Howard 
in pursuit, swung around to the east, and recrossed into 
Montana by way of Henry Lake. Near Camas Creek they 
had an engagement with the pursuing troops. 

Howard arrived at Henry Lake at 8 a.m., August 23d, 
just as the Indians had left. The long marches compelled 
him to halt at this point for three or four days, to rest 
his men and replenish his supplies. This gave the Indians 
a considerable start, of which, however, they took only a 
leisurely advantage. Their route lay across the Yellow¬ 
stone Park, which they entered by Targhee Pass, and on 
the night of August 23d they encamped on the Firehole 
River, within the Park boundaries, a short distance 
from where we left the Radersburg tourists, and less than 
twenty miles from the camp of the Helena party. The 
interest of the campaign for the next week centers chiefly 
upon the fortunes of these unlucky excursionists. An 
account of their adventures will be given in the chapters 
immediately following. 

Just as the Indians went into camp on the night of 
August 23d, their first day in the Park, they captured one 
Shively who was on his way to Montana from the Black 
Hills. As Shively professed to know the country, which 
the Nez Perces had never seen before, they impressed him 
into their service as guide. He was with them thirteen 
days and claims to have served them faithfully, as well 
as to have received fair treatment from them. At any 
rate he won their confidence by his behavior, and was 
watched so carelessly that he escaped one dark night just 


126 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


as the Indians were crossing the northeast boundary of 
the Park. 

On the 24th of August the Indians, under Joseph, 
moved to the Yellowstone River at the site of the ford 
near Mud Geyser. Here they remained during the 25th. 
On the following day the bulk of the command crossed 
the river, ascended its right bank to the lake, and took the 
Pelican Creek trail for the Lamar River valley in the 
northeast corner of the Park. A small party of marauders 
separated from the main body at Mud Geyser, descended 
the Yellowstone by the Mt. Washburn trail, attacked the 
Helena tourist party on their way, killing one man, burned 
and partially destroyed Baronett bridge near the junction 
of the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers, made a raid upon 
Mammoth Hot Springs, killing one man there, and went 
down the valley as far as Henderson’s Ranch, some three 
miles north of the Park boundary. Here they committed 
numerous depredations, stole a number of horses, and then 
returned without having suffered any loss whatever. 

Chief Joseph and his followers left the Park by way 
of Miller Creek. Their natural route would have been by 
Soda Butte Creek and Clark’s Fork; but they had learned, 
probably through Shively, that there was a large party of 
miners in the section where Cooke City now stands, and 
they feared that they might encounter some opposition 
there. 

As soon as the command at Henry Lake had become 
recuperated, the pursuit was vigorously resumed. Howard 
followed in the track of the Indians as far as to the ford 
of the Yellowstone; but instead of crossing at this point, 
he descended the river by the left bank to the site of 
Baronett’s celebrated first bridge over the l r ellowstone. 
The bridge was found partially destroyed and had to be 
repaired, after which the line of march was continued up 
the Lamar and Soda Butte Valleys, and across the divide 
to the valley of Clark’s Fork. 

The authorities had been widely warned of the probable 


HOSTILE INDIANS IN THE PARK 


127 


route of the Indians and were lying in wait to intercept 
them. General Sturgis expected to do this as they emerged 
from the Absaroka Mountains; but unfortunately he sta¬ 
tioned himself in the wrong pass and left the one which 
the Indians took unguarded. By this loss of time he fell 
in behind both the Indians and Howard, who was now in 
close pursuit. The Indians crossed the Yellowstone 
September 12th. Here Sturgis overtook them with a com¬ 
pany of cavalry and a slight conflict ensued. They then 
struck north, apparently for the British line. On Septem¬ 
ber 23d they crossed the Missouri at Cow Island and re¬ 
sumed their march north. But they were intercepted by 
General Miles in the Bear Paw Mountains and a severe 
fight followed, at the northern base of the range on Snake 
Creek, less than thirty miles from the boundary. The 
Indians were defeated and Chief Looking Glass was killed. 
Most of the survivors surrendered unconditionally, and the 
rest escaped across the line. This was on October 5, 1877. 

Since the first outbreak, June 13th, three months and 
twenty-two days had elapsed. The flight and pursuit had 
extended over 1,500 miles. There had been no fewer than 
fifteen engagements. The whites had lost 6 officers and 
121 soldiers and citizens killed, and 13 officers and 127 
soldiers and citizens wounded. A large part of the Indian 
losses could never be ascertained, but their known losses 
were 151 killed, 88 wounded, and 489 captured. 

This celebrated campaign is well intended to elicit the 
fullest sympathy for the unfortunate Nez Perces. They 
had always been a friendly tribe and it was their boast that 
they had never slain a white man. They were intelligent, 
brave, and humane. In this campaign they bought sup¬ 
plies which they might have confiscated; they saved prop¬ 
erty which they might have destroyed; they spared hun¬ 
dreds of lives which other Indians would have sacrificed. 
Their conduct places them nearer the standard of civilized 
people than any other of the native tribes of the continent. 

In estimating the causes that led to the war, history 


128 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


cannot fail to establish that the Indians were in the right. 
It was a last desperate stand against the inevitable destiny 
which was robbing the Indian of his empire—a final protest 
against the intolerable encroachments of the paleface. In 
defense of this principle, the Nez Perces staked their all 
on a single throw. They lost, and were irretrievably ruined. 
They were transported to a distant territory, and the land 
of their fathers knew them no more.* 

One of the interesting features of General Howard’s 
pursuit of Chief Joseph across the Park was the part 
taken by Captain W. F. Spurgin, Twenty-first Infantry, 
who was an engineer officer of the command. Before start¬ 
ing on his long pursuit, General Howard organized in Idaho 
a company of fifty-two frontiersmen, all of whom were 
skilled in some useful kind of work. They were organized 
as a company of engineers, armed as infantry troops, but 
mounted on horses furnished by themselves, and were paid 
at the rate of three dollars a day and their rations. The 
company had two pontoon-boats, all necessary tools and 
supplies, and a large pack train. They were not designated 
as engineers, though doing the work of engineer troops, 
but as “ skilled laborers.” This long name was quickly 
condensed by the troops into “ skillets.” The company 
started out every morning half an hour after the scouts, 
and about an hour before the main body. Their duty was 
to make a road for the army, and it involved constant 
work, great activity, and called forth every practical ex¬ 
pedient for overcoming difficulties with alacrity. 

When the Park was reached these difficulties became too 
great to be overcome as fast as Howard wished to move, 
and on the second day the army passed on over Mary 
Mountain, leaving Spurgin and the train to follow as fast 


* After the surrender, Joseph and a few of his followers were 
sent to Fort Leavenworth, where they remained until July, 
1878, when they were taken to the Indian Territory. After 
languishing here for seven years, they were established on the 
Colville Reservation in Washington. 



HOSTILE INDIANS IN THE PARK 


129 


as they could. The Captain made the prodigious ascent 
of the mountain, opening a road through the timber, and 
reached the ford of the Yellowstone very soon after 
Howard did. The General asked him how many wagons 
he had to abandon, and was greatly pleased to learn that 
all had gotten through. 

It was on the part of the route from Mud Geyser to 
Baronett Bridge, over the shoulder of Mt. Washburn, that 
Captain Spurgin made a proud record for himself as an 
officer of energy and resource, and left traces of the cam¬ 
paign through the Park which time has so far failed to 
eradicate. There are evidences of the old road nearly all 
the way. The high wooded hill along the river west of 
the present road, and about two miles above the Upper 
Falls of the Yellowstone, was descended by cutting a narrow 
way through the timber and letting the wagons straight 
down, holding them with ropes wound around trees. The 
marks on the trees where the ropes burned through the 
bark are still distinctly visible. The soldiers called this 
place “ Spurgin’s Beaver Slide.” 

In crossing the Washburn Range the train passed 
through Dunraven Pass, and instead of keeping along the 
trail, dropped down into the valley of Carnelian Creek. 
Thence it kept on to Tower Creek, and crossed the latter 
stream about a mile above the modern bridge. The traces 
of this old road will not disappear, except through a forest 
fire, for centuries to come.* 

The campaign of 1877 was the only one in which tourists 
of the National Park were ever subjected to serious danger 
from the Indians. In 1878, there was a slight alarm 
caused by an ephemeral raid of the Bannock Indians; but, 
beyond the loss of a few horses, no damage was done. 

* Captain Spurgin revisited the scene of his wonderful activi¬ 
ties in 1901 when, in company with the author, he passed over 
the entire line of march and assisted in identifying the sites of 
important occurrences that they might be permanently marked. 



CHAPTER XYI 


EXPERIENCES OF THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 

G OING back to the morning of August 24th, when 
Chief Joseph and his people arrived at the Lower 
Geyser Basin, we will record the experiences of the two 
parties of tourists to whom allusion was made in the previ¬ 
ous chapter. The party from Radersburg, Mont., was com¬ 
posed of the following persons: George F. Cowan and wife, 
Frank and Ida Carpenter, brother and sister of Mrs. 
Cowan, Charles Mann, William Dingee, Albert Oldham, 
A. J. Arnold, and a Mr. Meyers. Their main camp had 
been in a fringe of trees on the bank of a little stream 
about half a mile west of the Fountain Geyser, and from 
this point they had made excursions to the Upper Basin, 
the Lake, and the Canyon. The party was to start home 
this morning and Arnold and Dingee had arisen before 
sunrise to make a fire and prepare breakfast. Soon after, 
Mrs. Cowan aroused her husband and told him there were 
Indians outside. Mr. Cowan peered through the flap of 
the tent and saw that it was indeed so. Hastily dressing, 
he went out and commenced talking with an Indian called 
Charley, who spoke English well—a tall, slender Indian, 
with a long, but not bad-looking face. Charley pretended 
that the Indians were Flatheads, but a little questioning 
drew out the fact that they were Nez Perces. As it was 
known that these Indians were on the warpath, Mr. Cowan 
at once realized the gravity of the situation. 

Charley pretended that he belonged to Looking Glass’ 
band, who, he said, were friendly; and that the hostiles, 
under Chief Joseph, were “ two sleeps ” in rear. Cowan 
told him where he was from and that his party were just 

130 


THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 


131 


about to start home. Charley replied that it would not be 
safe to go back for he would meet Joseph’s men, who 
would kill the entire party. Looking Glass, he said, was 
en route to the Yellowstone buffalo country, and it would 
be better to go along with that chief. Cowan told him that 
he could not go that way, and that he would take his 
chances with Chief Joseph’s men. Just at that moment 
he saw a number of Indians crowding around the baggage 
wagon and Arnold on the point of handing them out sup¬ 
plies. Cowan promptly elbowed his way through the crowd 
and ordered Arnold not to give away any of the provisions. 
This vigorous action incensed the Indians, and probably 
accounts for their persistent efforts to kill Cowan later in 
the day. 

By this time the Indians had collected in large numbers 
and Cowan became thoroughly alarmed. He ordered the 
teams hitched up and camp to be broken at once. Every¬ 
thing was soon ready. There was a double-seated covered 
spring wagon, and a half spring baggage wagon. Such 
of the party as could not find seats in the wagons rode 
saddle horses. Cowan ordered the drivers to pull out, and 
he himself mounted his horse and rode alongside the wagon 
in which his wife was seated. The two women were 
crying, for the situation seemed to them hopeless. The 
start was made and the little stream crossed, when the 
wagons came to an abrupt stop. Directly in front, com¬ 
pletely blocking the way, was a line of mounted warriors, 
like a platoon of cavalry, with guns against the thigh as 
if ready for action. 

To this time Cowan had believed what Charley had 
told him about the chiefs—that Looking Glass was in 
advance and Joseph some distance back. Charley had tried 
to get Cowan to go on ahead, saying that Looking Glass 
wanted to see him; but Cowan had refused. Carpenter 
did go on until he discovered the ruse, and did not rejoin 
the party for an hour or so after. 

When Cowan saw his way barricaded he demanded of 


132 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Charley the cause, and insisted, with considerable vehe¬ 
mence, that the Indians must get out of his way. Charley 
smiled with a satisfied air, but made no reply. Cowan 
repeated his demand. Just then an Indian approached 
from the rear, put up his hand, gave some command in 
the native tongue, and the Indians lowered their guns. 
Cowan thought that this must be some chief of authority 
and promptly addressed his demand to him. This Indian, 
also smiling and pleasant, looked Cowan straight in the 
eye, but said nothing. Cowan pressed his demand, where¬ 
upon Looking Glass (for it was this chief) pointed back¬ 
ward with the thumb of his left hand to an Indian a little 
to his left and rear, and said in a heavy, dignified tone: 
“ Him, Joseph !” 

Here, then, was a situation. Cowan was “up against” 
Chief Joseph himself, and Looking Glass and the whole 
Nez Perce army. Joseph was painted in vermilion, but 
Looking Glass not. Joseph was the better looking man 
of the two. Cowan did not hesitate, but carried his peti¬ 
tion promptly and unfalteringly to the throne itself. 
Joseph looked him straight in the eye, but never deigned 
a word. Charley then came up and said to Cowan: “ Look 
here, now; we’re going to take your party right along.” 
Cowan protested, but Charley made no reply except to 
order the party to move on.* 

Forced to accompany the army of Chief Joseph, the hap¬ 
less party felt that their hopes of escape were slender and 
that they would all be massacred at the first favorable op¬ 
portunity. They were wretchedly armed and could offer 
no effective resistance. They moved on up the valley of 
Nez Perce Creek, and when about a mile and a half above 
the present bridge were stopped by the timber. Charley 
ordered the wagons abandoned, and the passengers to 
mount the horses. The provisions were all confiscated and 

* While talking with Charley before breaking camp, the 
Fountain Geyser played. Charley pointed toward it and said 
to Cowan: “What makes that?” 



THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 


133 


the spokes cut out of the wheels of the spring wagon. 
Charley rushed matters and in a little while the party 
were again on their way. 

Nothing of importance transpired on the march up Nez 
Perce Creek, and the noon camp of the Indians was 
reached in a beautiful spot in the edge of the timber at 
the foot of Mary Mountain. Here the party were ordered 
to dismount. Off a little to one side were the squaws pre¬ 
paring something to eat. The chiefs and some other prin¬ 
cipal men were seated in a half circle in a lovely little 
grass-covered opening among the trees and it was evident 
that a council was to be held to decide the fate of the 
whites. In fact, the council commenced at once, an Indian 
by the name of Poker Joe acting as spokesman for the 
chiefs, who could not speak English. Cowan answered for 
his party. 

Poker Joe opened up by asking several questions about 
where the tourists were from, the purpose of their visit, 
and where they desired to go. He said that he had known 
Cowan’s wife and sister and their brother, Carpenter, 
whom he had often seen at the Spokane House fifteen 
miles southeast of Helena, near the old trail by which his 
people went to the buffalo country in the Judith Basin. 
He spoke of the battle of the Big Hole, where they had lost 
many warriors, and even women and children. He said 
their men were very angry and thirsty for revenge, but 
that it was not their desire to injure Montana people, but 
only Lewiston soldiers. They were in need of guns and 
horses and all kinds of supplies. The chiefs had decided 
to take the horses and firearms of the party, and give them 
broken down horses and let them go home. This was their 
only salvation; otherwise all would be killed. 

To this deliberate ultimatum there was evidently only 
one reply—acceptance. Resistance was out of the question. 
The proposition of the chiefs gave at least a hope, slender 
though it was, and after consultation with his people, 
Cowan gave his consent. 


134 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

The council at once broke up and the Indians made a 
rush for the confiscated outfit, Cowan’s horse fell to Poker 
Joe, who was thrown to the ground by the angry animal 
in attempting to mount him from the right side. Poker 
Joe then made a circuit of the camp, calling out some 
command in the Indian tongue. The squaws immediately 
commenced packing up. A few minutes later he repeated 
the command, and then a third time, after the same 
interval. The whole camp then moved up the trail. Poker 
Joe told the captives that they were free and directed them 
to take the back trail. They started back entirely alone. 
To this time they had not suffered the slightest indignity 
from the Indians. 

After retreating some three-quarters of a mile, a force 
of about seventy-five Indians came galloping back uttering 
warwhoops, and evidently bent upon mischief. They or¬ 
dered the little party to stop, and Charley (who again ap¬ 
pears on the scene) asked, in apparent anger, what had 
become of two of the men who had discreetly taken to the 
brush. Cowan replied that he did not know before that 
they were gone. After a little delay the party were coun¬ 
termarched and taken back up the trail. It was evident 
that their situation was now desperate. An occasional stop 
was made to give the Indians time for consultation. The 
party proceeded back past the council ground and perhaps 
three-quarters of a mile beyond, when two Indians were 
sent on in great haste, with the probable purpose of finding 
out if the chiefs were at a safe distance ahead. A few 
minutes later, as the party were passing over a little knoll, 
these two Indians came riding back at full speed. Seeing 
the party they stopped, and one of the Indians fired at 
Mr. Cowan, striking him in the right thigh. The firing 
then became general and most of the whites scattered into 
the woods. Carpenter and his two sisters were taken pris¬ 
oners. Carpenter’s life was saved by an involuntary act 
which has won for him the undeserved credit of showing 
great presence of mind. An Indian leveled his gun at him, 


THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 


135 


when Carpenter, believing that his time had come, made 
a sign of the cross. The religious nature of the Indian * 
instantly responded to the familiar movement, and he 
dropped his gun and told Carpenter that he would save 
him. 

When Cowan was shot he slid from his horse, but his 
leg was paralyzed and he fell upon the steep side hill and 
rolled down against a log. Mrs. Cowan instantly leaped 
from her horse, ran to her husband’s side, enveloped his 
head in her arms, and tried to baffle the efforts of the 
Indians to kill him. The Indians endeavored to pull her 
away, but she resisted strenuously, begging them to kill 
her instead. Cowan himself held fast to her, preferring 
that she be killed there with him than be left to the mercy 
of the savages. Charley then came up, asked where 
Cowan’s wound was, and seeing that it was not fatal, made 
a desperate effort to get a shot at his head, but Mrs. Cowan 
was too alert for him. Finally, Charley drew Mrs. 
Cowan back and another Indian held a pistol almost in 
Cowan’s eyes and fired. Mrs. Cowan was pulled away, and 
with her brother and sister was taken along with the In¬ 
dians. Some stones were thrown upon Cowan’s head, and 
he was then left for dead. 

Singularly enough, neither the bullet wounds nor the 
blows from the stones had been fatal to Mr. Cowan and he 
presently recovered consciousness. The attack had taken 
place about 2:30 p.m., and when he opened his eyes the 
sun was just dropping below the western hills. He recalled 
what had happened, examined himself, made up his mind 
that there was hope yet, and concluded to save himself if 
he could. He drew himself up by the branch of a tree, 
when, lo! a little way off, he saw a mounted Indian in the 
act of drawing his rifle to fire at him. Cowan tried to get 
away, but the Indian dismounted and fired and struck him 
in the back. He fell to the ground and momentarily ex- 

* The Nez Perc6s had been for nearly fifty years devout fol¬ 
lowers of the Catholic Church. 



136 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


pected the Indian to come np and dispatch him, but for 
some reason he did not come. 

After waiting awhile, and seeing no other Indians, Mr. 
Cowan commenced a pilgrimage on his knees which con¬ 
tinued for several days and probably has no parallel in 
history. He was wholly without food, with three bullet 
wounds and dangerous bruises on his person, and in a 
neighborhood that was still thronging with hostile Indians. 
He crawled along on the back trail in a bright moonlight 
until about midnight, when he thought he saw something. 
Stopping and looking closely, he saw an Indian rise up 
from his sleep, look around, and then lie down again. 
Cowan retreated as noiselessly as possible, made a wide 
detour, and resumed his course. He next passed a bunch 
of broken down Nez Perce horses, which had been aban¬ 
doned. He would have caught one, but there was no bridle 
and it was doubtful if he could have ridden. It was not 
until noon of the following day that he reached a creek 
crossing and found plenty of water. 

At snail pace Cowan kept on day after day. One morn¬ 
ing, about nine o’clock, he heard Indians again. Lying 
low behind a tree he watched and listened, and presently 
saw a body of about seventy-five Indians passing up the 
valley. He thought he saw a white man among them, but 
was not certain. It was, in fact, a company of friendly 
Bannock scouts on the trail of the Nez Perces, under the 
command of an army officer. But Cowan did not know 
and it would not do to run any risk. 

The day after this event he reached the abandoned 
wagons. There was nothing to be found there in the shape 
of food, but he did find a bird dog that belonged to the 
party. The dog had probably been there ever since the 
wagons were abandoned. At the first sight of Cowan she 
rushed at him fiercely, but suddenly recognizing him, her 
fury changed and she pawed and caressed him in a 
paroxysm of joy. 

Cowan next made his painful way to the old camp, 


THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 


137 


where he found about a dozen matches and a little coffee 
scattered on the ground. With an old fruit can he suc¬ 
ceeded, after much difficulty, in making some coffee—the 
first thing he had had in the way of nourishment since 
he was shot. Remaining there over night, he started for 
the valley of Nez Perce Creek, because he would there be 
more in the route of any force that might be following the 
Indians. When nearing a point which he had selected for 
his permanent bivouac, he discovered two horsemen on the 
edge of some timber and presently distinguished that they 
were white men. He signaled and they approached, in¬ 
quiring in much astonishment, “ Who in h—1 are you ? ” 
Cowan gave them his name and they replied that they had 
expected to bury him that day. They had met Oldham 
and Meyers, who had told them that Cowan was dead. 
The two men were scouts from Howard’s command. They 
fixed Cowan up as well as they could, built him a large 
fire, left him food to last till Howard should come, and 
then went on their way. 

Cowan dropped asleep, but soon fell into another peril 
which came near proving fatal. The ground on which he 
was lying was full of vegetable mold, very dry at that 
season of the year, and the fire burrowed through it with 
facility. Cowan was awakened by the heat and found him¬ 
self completely surrounded by fire. With great difficulty 
and severe burns, he extricated himself from this new 
danger. 

Howard and his command came along on the afternoon 
of August 30th, and went into camp half a mile above 
the present bridge over Nez Perce Creek. He named this 
camp e< Camp Cowan.” He brought news of the safety of 
Mrs. Cowan and her sister and brother. Cowan was given 
surgical attendance, and when camp moved was carried 
in one of the wagons. He accompanied General Howard’s 
command as far as to Mud Geyser, and was then intrusted 
to the wagon train in charge of Captain Spurgin. 

While descending the valley of Carnelian Creek Mr. 


138 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Cowan experienced an unnecessary fright and passed an 
anxious half hour. There was an alarm of Indians and 
suddenly he found himself and his ambulance entirely de¬ 
serted. Quite ungenerously, but with some show of reason, 
his first thought was that his escort had sought their indi¬ 
vidual safety at the risk of his own. As a matter of fact 
they had gone to meet the supposed enemy, who turned 
out to be friendly scouts under Lieutenant Doane, the 
explorer of 1870. 

After many delays and great suffering, Cowan reached 
Bottler’s ranch about twenty-five miles north of the Park, 
a noted stopping place in those days. Here the military 
left him to await the arrival of friends. Mrs. Cowan in 
the meanwhile had returned home. She remained there 
but one day, when she went to her father’s house some 
twenty miles distant and there received news of Mr. 
Cowan’s safety. She at once went to Helena to learn by 
telegraph where he was, and then by stage to Bozeman, 
where she procured a suitable conveyance and started for 
Bottler’s ranch. The day after her arrival they set out on 
the return journey to Bozeman, Mr. Cowan lying on a bed 
in the bottom of the wagon. The route lay across the 
Trail Creek divide between the Yellowstone and Gallatin 
Rivers. When near the top of his divide, and going down 
a steep hill, the neckyoke broke, the team ran, and the 
wagon was overturned down the mountain side. Only the 
generous supply of bedding on which Mr. Cowan was lying 
saved him from serious injury. By good luck a man on 
horseback happened along just then. Arnold impressed the 
horse, made a forced ride to Fort Ellis, secured an am¬ 
bulance, and the journey was thus completed to Bozeman. 
Cowan was taken at once to a hotel, where he remained until 
well enough to return home. 

The fatality which seemed to pursue Mr. Cowan did 
not yet desert him, but now began to assume a ludicrous 
phase. As soon as his presence at the hotel became known, 
friends and others rushed in to see him and tender their 


THE RADERSBURG TOURISTS 139 

congratulations. They gathered around his bed and so 
many sat down upon it that it gave away and fell in a 
wreck on the floor. The proprietor jokingly threatened 
to expel the wounded man, as he could not afford to have 
such a Jonah on the premises. 

Among the callers upon Mr. Cowan at this time was an 
importunate minister who displayed some of the tactless 
zeal which occasionally characterizes the clerical profession. 
He asked many questions, which Mr. Cowan, in his ex¬ 
hausted condition, became very tired of. Finally he said 
with impressive gravity: “ Mr. Cowan, during all this time 
that you were crawling along, not knowing that you would 
ever see your friends again, did you not frequently think 
of your God ? ” Mr. Cowan’s patience was gone, and he 
replied in a way that he has ever since been a little sorry 
for: “Not by a d—n sight; I had too many other things 
to think of.” 

The experiences of Mrs. Cowan and her sister, after the 
events of August 24th, though full of hardship and suffer¬ 
ing, were not at any time a matter of peril. They were 
treated with respect by the Indians. A council was held 
at the ford of the Yellowstone to determine their fate, 
and they were given their freedom. Their long ride to 
Bottler’s ranch was very trying, but they accomplished it 
successfully. She and her husband lived to make several 
visits to the scene of their adventures, and in 1901, Mr. 
Cowan accompanied the author on an expedition over the 
route of Joseph and Howard, as elsewhere related, and 
rendered material aid in identifying the more important 
landmarks of the campaign. His recollection of localities 
was astonishingly vivid and accurate. 


CHAPTER XVII 


EXPERIENCES OF THE HELENA TOURISTS 

T HE personnel of the party of tourists from Helena 
whom we left in camp near the Falls of the Yellow¬ 
stone on the 24th of August was A. J. Weikert, Richard 
Dietrich, Frederic Pfister, Joseph Roberts, Charles 
Kenck, Jack Stewart, August Foller, Leslie Wilkie, L. 
Duncan, and Benjamin Stone (colored cook). On the 
morning of the 25th the party started up the river toward 
the Mud Geyser. They had gone about a mile beyond 
Sulphur Mountain when they discovered moving bodies 
of men, part of whom were fording the river. Careful 
scrutiny showed them to be Indians, and the party rightly 
divined that they must be the hostile Nez Perces. Hastily 
retracing their steps they went into camp in the timber 
near the forks of Otter Creek, about a mile and a half from 
the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone. Here they remained 
undisturbed all day and the following night. On the 
morning of the 26th, Weikert and Wilkie set out to scout 
the country. They went as far as Sulphur Mountain, and 
finding everything clear, started back to camp to report. 
When entering the timber just north of Alum Creek, they 
suddenly met a band of Indians who promptly opened fire 
on them. A flight and pursuit of considerable duration 
ended in the escape of both men; but not until Weikert 
had been wounded. This party of Indians had just at¬ 
tacked and dispersed the group in camp. They had stolen 
upon the camp as dinner was being prepared, and a volley 
of musketry was the first warning the tourists had of their 
presence. There was instant flight, and most of the party 
managed to get away. But Kenck was soon overtaken and 

140 


EXPERIENCES OF HELENA TOURISTS 141 

killed; and Stewart, after being severely wounded, pre¬ 
vailed on the Indians to spare his life. 

Weikert and Wilkie, who had hastened back to camp 
after their own encounter, found everything in confusion, 
and all the party gone. They soon fell in with several of 
them, and together they set out for Mammoth Hot Springs. 

And now began another series of wanderings through the 
trackless wilderness of the Park. Two of the party made 
their way to the Madison River, where they were given 
food by soldiers, and thence to Virginia City and Helena. 
The rest of the survivors, after much hardship, reached 
Mammoth Hot Springs, and soon after left the Park, with 
the exception of Weikert, Dietrich, the colored cook, Stone, 
and a man named Stoner. 

On August 31st, Weikert and one McCartney, owner of 
the first hotel ever built in the Park, went to the Falls of 
the Yellowstone in order, if possible, to learn the fate of 
the missing members of the party. Shortly after their 
departure from Mammoth Hot Springs a band of Indians 
prowled across the country from the Yellowstone to the 
Gardiner, and went down the latter stream as far as Hen¬ 
derson’s, two miles beyond the north boundary of the Park. 
After a brief skirmish and a general pillage here, they went 
back to the Springs. Stoner and the colored cook fled 
precipitately, but Dietrich, believing the Indians to be 
friendly scouts, remained behind and was shot dead in 
the door of the hotel. 

Weikert and McCartney went to the old camp on Otter 
Creek, where they buried Kenck’s remains and gathered up 
whatever of value the Indians had left. On their way back, 
when near the falls of the East Gardiner, they met the 
bands of Indians who had just slain Dietrich. A lively 
skirmish ensued, in which Weikert lost his horse. The two 
men succeeded in finding refuge in some neighboring 
brushwood. 

Such is a brief resume of the events which befell the 
Helena tourists in their unlucky brush with the Nez Perees; 


142 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


but there were several incidents connected therewith worth 
recording, as there always are with any event where human 
life is at stake and men are put upon their mettle by the 
problem of self-preservation. 

The camp site on Otter Creek was well chosen for de¬ 
fense, but its natural advantages were ignored by the party. 
It was a triangular knoll between the forks of the stream, 
and some twenty feet above them. It commanded every 
approach, and with the slightest vigilance and intelligent 
preparation, could have been made impregnable to the 
eighteen Indians who attacked it. But while the camp 
was properly pitched in a little depression back of the crest, 
the men themselves all stayed back where the view around 
them was entirely cut off. They kept no guard, and were, 
therefore, in a worse position than if actually out in the 
open plain below. The Indians approached under cover 
of the hill, climbed its sides, and burst over its crest 
directly into camp before any one suspected their presence. 

When the Helena party retreated from Sulphur Moun¬ 
tain, after their first sight of the Indians, Kenck wanted 
to go right in to Mammoth Hot Springs, instead of going 
into camp as they did on Otter Creek. He even refused to 
submit to the decision of the majority and started back 
alone, but gave it up and rejoined the party. Shortly be¬ 
fore the attack occurred, his mind full of foreboding, he 
said to Stone, the colored cook: “ Stone, what would you 
do if the Indians should jump us? ” Stone replied: “ You 
take care of yourself, and I’ll take care of mine.” Scarcely 
were the words out of his mouth when the Indians did 
“ jump ” the camp. Stone took care of himself, as he had 
promised, and as we shall presently see, but poor Kenck 
was chased to a hill across the creek and there slain. 

Stewart’s escape was due to an impulse of mercy or 
indulgence very rare in Indian warfare. He was hit with 
a rifle ball in the first rush to escape. He fell and the 
Indians came up and he expected to be dispatched at once. 
He begged lustily for his life and promised to give the 


EXPERIENCES OF HELENA TOURISTS 143 


Indians everything he possessed—a rather superfluous gen¬ 
erosity, since they could take it all anyway. His pleading 
seemed to make an impression. He gave them two hundred 
and sixty dollars in cash and his gold watch, and they let 
him go. Just after they left he saw his horse near by. 
The animal was incorrigibly wild and very hard to catch; 
but this time responded at once to his master’s voice and 
gave himself up without any apparent objection. 

Weikert’s and McCartney’s brush with the Indians on 
the slope of Mount Everts was a lively affair while it lasted. 
Both men spurred their horses up the steep side of the 
mountain toward some underbrush, the Indians firing thick 
and fast all the time. The men replied, but not very ef¬ 
fectively at the speed at which they were going. Sud¬ 
denly both were unhorsed. Weikert’s mount was shot and 
instantly killed, and McCartney’s saddle slipped back and 
turned over under the horse, frightening him and causing 
him to run away. The mule that carried the pack was 
abandoned when the chase began. The Indians were get¬ 
ting very close when the two men reached cover, but then 
abandoned the chase and themselves took counsel as to their 
personal safety. 

Once during their flight McCartney looked at Weikert 
and saw that he was pale as a sheet. He said to Weikert, 
“Do I look pale?” “No,” replied Weikert, “do I?” 
McCartney answered, “ No.” 

Just how Dietrich happened to get caught as he did is 
a mystery. He was a music teacher from Helena and 
unused to roughing it. On his way in from Otter Creek 
he became utterly exhausted and a horse had to be sent 
back several miles for him. When Weikert and McCart¬ 
ney started back to bury Kenck, McCartney cautioned him 
to “look out for his hair.” Dietrich replied: “Andy 
[Weikert], you will give me a decent burial, won’t you?” 
Later in the same day Indians were seen approaching the 
Springs. They went on, however, to Henderson’s ranch 
below and returned the following day. This time they 


144 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


apparently surprised Dietrich in the cabin, which used to 
stand in the gulch west of Liberty Cap,* and shot him on 
the door steps. The soldiers found the body soon after 
and laid it in the cabin on the floor. It was buried by 
Weikert on the following day. Six weeks later Weikert 
came in from Helena and took away the remains of both 
Kenck and Dietrich. 

Ben Stone, the colored cook, no longer a young man, 
possessed enough of the quaint humor of his race to lend 
an air of comicality to a situation which more than once 
came near having tragic consequences. When the Indians 
“ jumped” the camp on Otter Creek, just after he had 
made his laconic reply to Kenck, he could not at first 
believe it was Indians, but thought it was some of his own 
party trying to create a little excitement. He called out 
to them to “stop their foolishness,” for they might kill 
some one, and added, “You can’t scare us.” A moment 
later saw him on a lively run and the dinner he was cooking 
was never finished. As he ran, the Indians fired several 
shots at him. He fell into a creek and they probably 
thought him killed. 

Stone was at Mammoth Hot Springs when the Indians 
raided the place. He retreated up the gulch back of the 
McCartney cabin, the Indians in pursuit, and taking ad¬ 
vantage of a moment when a turn in the trail concealed 
them from view, shinned up a tree and made himself 
scarce in the branches. His heart beat so loud that he 
was certain the Indians would hear it. One of them did 
stop directly under the tree, but the terrified cook prayed 
that he might pass on, and his prayer was answered. 

Weikert, in his Journal, records that Stone remained in 
the tree until after dark, “when he slipped down and 
crawled over a hill, where he stayed all night and the next 
day, when he again ventured out. Ben said, ‘ Five times 

* “ McCartney’s Hotel,” a log structure of one story, the first 
building erected in the Park. Later, for many years, it was used 
by Chinamen as a laundry. It was recently destroyed by fire. 



EXPERIENCES OF HELENA TOURISTS 145 


I started out of dem bushes and five times I went back 
again. Then I prayed fervently to Almighty God to 
deliver me out of this trouble, and He did take me out.’ 
A bear came to see him while he was in the brush and 
he was undecided what to do. If he stayed there the bear 
would be apt to eat him, and if he came out the Indians 
would be likely to kill him; but he finally decided in favor 
of the bear, because he had tried the Indians twice. When 
the bear saw him it stood up on its hind feet and looked 
at him for a while and then ran away.” 

The poor darkey then made his way to Henderson’s 
ranch, where Lieutenant Doane was in camp with a com¬ 
pany of scouts. The sentinel challenged him (Stone’s 
version)—“‘Who comes dar?’ ‘Ben Stone.’ ‘Come in, 
Ben Stone; ’ and you bet I come a-runnin’.” Two of the 
friendly Indian scouts rushed up to Stone and shook hands, 
exclaiming, “ How, how! ” Stone was again panic-stricken 
and declared that one of the Indians was Chief Joseph 
himself. He did not recover his composure until Weikert 
and McCartney returned to camp. 

That night his heart was so full of gratitude over his 
miraculous escape that he could not rest, and started to 
spend the night in praying aloud and thanking God for 
his goodness. The rest of the camp became weary of his 
devotions after a while and asked him to desist. He replied 
that God had saved his life and he was going to thank 
Him as long and loud as he liked, whether the camp got 
any sleep or not. Lieutenant Doane finally stationed a 
guard to compel him to silence. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 

I N" previous editions of this book our account of Mr. 

Everts’ experiences after his separation from the Wash¬ 
burn party was limited to a citation of the excellent sum¬ 
mary given in Lieutenant Doane’s report of 1870.* The 
extraordinary character of this experience and its connec¬ 
tion with the history of explorations of the Park seem to 
justify more extended treatment. The narrative which 
follows is made up from the several authorities available, 
but principally from Mr. Everts’ own account—“ Thirty- 
Seven Days of Peril ”—as published in Scribner s 
Monthly, 1871.f 

No more terrible feeling can come over one than that 
of being lost in a wild and rough country or in a dense 
forest when there is any real danger of not finding one’s 
way out. It is nothing, of course, to an experienced woods¬ 
man, with his rifle, provisions, and blanket, if he does lose 
his bearings now and then and get badly mixed up. A 
little patience and careful search will put him on the right 
track again. But when one who is unused to the wilder¬ 
ness becomes separated from his companions, and perhaps 
without weapons, food, blankets, or means of making a 
fire, is forced for the first time in his life to stay out over 
night in the dense woods or the rough hills, the terror 
is unlike anything else that can come to one. 

The Yellowstone Park is an easy place for the “ tender¬ 
foot” to get lost in, if he wanders a little way from the 
beaten path. It is nearly all rough and mountainous and 

* “ Yellowstone Expedition of 1870,” p. 37. 
f Vol. Ill, p. 1. 


146 



LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 


147 


covered with pine forests. In many places these forests 
are so filled with dead and down timber that it is almost 
impossible to get through with a horse. They are so dense 
that one easily gets mixed about directions, for the trees 
all look alike and it is impossible to see outside to moun¬ 
tains or other landmarks. If the sun is shining one can 
guess his direction pretty well by the tree shadows, and a 
good woodsman can tell from certain marks on the trees. 
But a green hand at the business is almost certain to be¬ 
come confused and to wander around and around without 
making any progress. 

With this preliminary the reader will more easily under¬ 
stand the terrible predicament in which Mr. Everts found 
himself when he lost connection with his party; but fully 
to appreciate his peril it is necessary to bear in mind that 
he was largely deprived of the most essential resource in 
such a situation, his eyesight. He was very nearsighted 
and had to rely strictly upon his glasses, and these appear 
to have been lost early in his wanderings. Add to this 
handicap the fact that he was unused to wilderness travel, 
and it is not surprising that even his great physical power 
and heroic determination came near proving insufficient for 
his salvation. 

It was on September 9, 1870, in the excessively rough 
and obstructed country south of the Yellowstone Lake that 
Mr. Everts became separated from his companions and 
was forced to spend the night alone. He was not much 
worried at first, however, for he felt sure that he would 
find the rest of the party next day. But the following 
morning, while dismounted, his horse became frightened at 
something and ran off and was never seen again. On the 
horse was almost everything that Mr. Everts had except a 
few little things in his pockets. Even his eye glasses had 
been lost or broken so that he could see only a short dis¬ 
tance, and he was compelled to get down from his horse if 
he wanted to examine a trail carefully. The most valuable 
thing left in his pockets, and the one which saved his life, 


148 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


as we shall soon see, was a little field glass which he had 
brought along to aid him in examining the country. 

A half day spent in trying to recover his horse was a 
failure. He then went back to the spot where the horse 
was lost and where he had fastened written notices on the 
trees hoping that some of his party might see them; but 
no one had been there. It now dawned upon him that he 
was really lost. The thought of spending another night 
alone in the forest, this time without food or blankets or 
fire, chilled him to the heart. He hastened hither and 
thither, and in his feverish anxiety made no real progress. 
The sun went down with a rapidity he had never known 
before, and the gloom of night fell with all its terrors in 
the depths of the somber forest. Mr. Everts was naturally 
timid and the effect of this new situation was quite ap¬ 
palling. He had now gone two days without food. It is 
said to be the experience of those who have been deprived 
of food for a long while that the pangs of hunger are 
severest in the early part of their fast, and Mr. Everts said 
afterward that he suffered more on this particular night 
for lack of food than he did at any other time during his 
five weeks’ starvation. Everything combined to render this 
a night of abject misery. Alone in the dense forest, 150 
miles from home, without a blanket or a fire in that high 
altitude where there were severe frosts every night, fright¬ 
ened by the howl of the coyote and the roar of the moun¬ 
tain lion, his imagination adding unreal terrors to the 
real ones, he spent the dragging hours in utter despair. 
Still in spite of the helplessness of his situation he nerved 
himself against giving up. He thought of home and his 
daughter whose mother was no longer living. He thought 
of his friends and everything that was dear to him. It 
seemed impossible that he should not return, and he said 
to himself that there was surely hope as long as he re¬ 
tained his reason. He was sorely puzzled that his friends 
did not find him. How was it possible that they could 
not get in touch with him if they tried? Could they not 


LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 


149 


build fires or discharge their rifles; or search the country 
for him? Was it possible that they had deserted him to 
a terrible fate alone in the wilderness? 

In truth it is hard to answer these questions. Accord¬ 
ing to their own reports the party spent nearly two weeks 
searching, lighting fires, discharging guns, putting up signs, 
“caching” food where they thought he might pass, but 
all to no purpose. The fires and smoke were not seen owing 
to his nearsightedness. The dense forests or the roughness 
of the country smothered the sounds of the guns, and for 
some reason their trails did not cross. After a while the 
main party concluded that their lost companion had been 
killed and they reluctantly went on their way without him. 

On the morning of the third day of his wandering Mr. 
Everts struck out, as he supposed, in the direction the party 
must have gone, but in reality almost away from it, and 
after a tedious ramble, hungry and exhausted, he came to 
a wonderful little lake in a deep valley surrounded by lofty 
mountains. On its shore were many hot springs. The 
scenery was grand, if he could but have enjoyed it. On 
the lake were ducks and swans, but he had no gun to kill 
any for food. Animals of various species passed near him 
but he could not capture any. He was literally starving 
in the midst of plenty. 

At first he was fearful that he might fall in with some 
Indians; now he would have given anything to have had 
that very thing happen. Once he thought he saw a boat 
coming across the lake, for his defective eyesight could not 
distinguish things well at a distance. Hastening to the 
spot where he thought that the boat was going to land, 
he seemed to frighten it, for it rose out of the water and 
flew away. It was a huge pelican. The incident quite un¬ 
nerved him. It was as bad as the mirage to the thirst- 
stricken wanderer in the desert. 

He now made the first of two discoveries which were the 
means of saving his life. He found a kind of thistle that 
had a root like a radish and it proved to be a wholesome 


150 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


food. He was overjoyed at this discovery. Surely he need 
not starve as long as he could find these roots, and he tried 
thereafter to have a supply always with him. 

The first night at the lake was a terrible one. A moun¬ 
tain lion came upon him, and he had barely time to climb 
a tree, where he stayed nearly all night, the animal wan¬ 
dering around the base and making the night hideous with 
its howling. Finally it went aw r ay, and Mr. Everts, utterly 
unable to remain in the tree longer, came down, half dead 
with stiffness and cold. The weather had changed and 
one of those bleak snowstorms of the mountains that always 
come in September was upon him. In the midst of the 
storm a little benumbed bird fell into his hands. Once he 
would have pitied and saved it; now he killed it instantly 
and ate it raw, not having any fire to cook it with. 

He found relief from the terrible cold by going to some 
hot springs in the vicinity. Here he remained seven days. 
He built a shelter of boughs near one of the springs and 
cooked his thistle roots in the boiling water. The steam 
from the springs soaked his clothing but kept him warm 
and he lived in a kind of hot bath, doing nothing but dig 
and cook thistle roots and think —think of his home, of his 
companions whom he could not find, of his plans after the 
storm should pass, of a thousand things that flitted 
through his overwrought brain. 

And now he made his second great discovery. He had 
had no fire and he well knew that another storm like the 
last one would freeze him to death, if it caught him away 
from the hot springs, and he must leave them if he was 
ever to get home. As he was thinking of this the storm 
clouds burst open and the sun lit up the surface of the lake. 
He thought of how the sun had been made to kindle fires 
by use of a lens. Then he remembered the lens in his 
pocket. Acting instantly on the idea, he got a piece of 
soft, dry wood, took out his field glasses, and focussed the 
sun’s rays on the wood. Blessed sight—it really began to 
smoke, the smoke was followed by coal, and the coal by 































































LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 


151 


flame! He had found fire at last, and if he could keep it, 
the danger of freezing to death was over. How necessary 
fire is to man! 

But the fire, necessary as it was, was sometimes a source 
of misfortune. Once, while he was asleep, it spread to 
the timber and started a forest fire which had so far sur¬ 
rounded him before he awoke that he escaped with dif¬ 
ficulty. Generally he carried a burning brand so as not 
to be left without fire if clouds should obscure the sun 
unexpectedly. The brand burned his hands a great deal 
while the smoke turned his face to the color of an Indian’s. 
At the end of one of his long tramps he hastened to fix 
his fire, for it was a raw, cold day. Laying down his brand 
to gather some dry sticks, he returned to find it entirely 
gone out. His heart failed him. Surely he would die 
such a night as that was without a fire. The sun was 
almost down and among broken clouds. How he watched 
and prayed, hoping it would peep out for one little instant! 
And sure enough it did. Instantly the lens was at work, 
picking up the life-giving rays and concentrating them 
upon the wood. Would the cloud stay away long enough? 
Smoke—coal—flame! Saved again! 

A few times in his earlier wandering he lost his fire 
and passed the night by keeping incessantly on the move. 
Later he became too weak for this and it was absolutely 
necessary not to lose it. But the carrying of the brand 
and the difficulty of keeping it alive were so great a 
nuisance that when a day promised to be clear he would 
let the brand go and rely on the lens. It was on one of 
these days, after he had gone as far as he could, and had 
stopped to build his fire soon after noon, that he found his 
lens missing. If the earth had opened beneath him the 
shock could not have been greater. It was on the high 
plateau and the night would be very cold. He would not 
be able to survive it. He thought over every inch of his 
journey and concluded that he must have left his lens at 
his last night’s stopping place. Exhausted though he was, 


152 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

there was nothing to do but return, and that in haste before 
the sun should set. So he dragged his weak and weary 
limbs over his morning’s march, and to his great joy found 
the lens where it had fallen from his pocket while asleep. 
His friend, the fire, was restored to him, but a precious 
day’s time had been lost. 

Thistle roots continued his main food. In vain he tried 
to catch some fish. Once he did get a few minnows, but 
his stomach rebelled and he threw them away. One day 
on the shore of Yellowstone Lake he found a gull’s wing 
torn off from some cause. Instantly stripping off the 
feathers, he pounded it up, bones and all, between some 
stones, made a fire, and boiled it in a little tin can which 
he had picked up at one of the camps. It was the most 
delicious bowl of soup he ever tasted. After it was swal¬ 
lowed he lay down and slept the rest of the day and all 
the following night. This was his only luxurious meal. 
Gradually his strength waned and he felt a kind of 
paralysis coming on and his stomach would sometimes 
refuse even his scanty food of thistle roots. Yet all around 
him was plenty—birds in the air, trout in the streams, 
game in the fields and woods. “ Why is it,” he cried in 
despair, “ that I must starve in the midst of abundance! ” 

Early in his wanderings his mind began to feel the effect 
of his suffering. Strange visions came to him. Once an 
old friend and counselor of his youth appeared and told 
him to change the course he was traveling on, and he 
obeyed. Sometimes he would seem to be walking with the 
most delightful companions. Then at night he would see 
wild animals all around his campfire waiting to devour 
him. He lost all sense of time, and days came and went 
without his having the least idea of their place in the 
calendar. More than once he was tempted to give up the 
fight, but some inner force moved him to keep on and hope 
told him that he would yet win. 

On and on he went, his strength growing less and his 
day’s journey shorter and the nights more bleak and cold. 


LOST IN THE WILDERNESS 


153 


At last he came out into the open country on a high 
plateau where the raw wind swept pitilessly upon him. He 
could see in dim outline the distant hills where he knew 
he could find help. But in his weak condition it would 
take days to get there. Thistles did not grow in the open 
country and his supply would not last long. The weather 
was bitterly cold and he had nothing but his fire left. Must 
he perish just as deliverance was in sight? He stumbled 
on, the precious firebrand in his hand but the fire in his 
heart almost gone out. This, in his own words, is how 
he felt: “A solemn conviction that death was near, that 
each pause I made my limbs would refuse further service, 
and that I should sink helpless in my path, overwhelmed 
me with terror. I knew that in two or three days more 
I could effect my deliverance if I could keep on, and I 
derived no little satisfaction from the thought that I was 
now near the broad trail where my remains would be found 
if I should fail and my friends would know of my fate. 
Once more the thought flashed across my mind that I 
should yet be saved.” 

Creeping along in this dreadful plight one day, his mind 
wandering, the distant hills seeming more distant than 
ever, the sky overcast and gloomy, he stumbled and fell 
near a rock on the trail. The end was at hand. He felt 
that he could never rise again and he saw back of him 
a mountain lion that was waiting to devour his emaciated 
body. Not even the hope that his remains would be found 
was now left him. Hopeless and prostrate in spirit, he 
gave himself up to his fate. 

A sound! A human voice! It was calling his name! 

“ Are you Mr. Everts ? ” 

"Yes; all that is left of him!” and the poor man sank 
helpless into the arms of two men who leaped from their 
horses to grasp him. He was saved literally from the jaws 
of death. He had been lost just thirty-seven days.* 


September 9 to October 16. 



154 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


When the exploring party of which Everts was a member 
got back to the settlements, they instantly organized a 
relief expedition to go in search of the lost man, and it was 
two of this party, well-known mountain scouts, Jack 
Baronett and George A. Pritchett, who came upon Mr. 
Everts just as he was giving up in despair.* They carried 
him to the nearest house and sent for a doctor. His whole 
system was so out of order that it seemed for a time that it 
could never be made to work again. Finally he began to 
gain strength and after a while was able to return home. 
He became entirely well, and being naturally of a robust 
constitution he lived for thirty-one years after his remark¬ 
able experience and died at the age of eighty-five. 


* It was near the great trail on the high plateau a few miles 
west of Yancey’s. Baronett threw up a mound of stones to mark 
the spot. 



PART II.—DESCRIPTIVE 


CHAPTER I 

BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 

AT the time when the bill creating the Yellowstone 
ii Park was before Congress there had been no detailed 
survey of that region, and the boundaries, as specified in 
the bill, were to some extent random guesses. The explor¬ 
ing parties of 1870 and 1871 had seen all the more im¬ 
portant points of interest. To include these in the pro¬ 
posed reservation, the framers of the bill passed two lines 
due east and west, one through the junction of the Yellow¬ 
stone and Gardiner Rivers, and one through a point ten 
miles south of the most southerly point of the Yellowstone 
Lake; and two lines due north and south, one through a 
point ten miles east of the easternmost point of Yellow¬ 
stone Lake, and one through a point fifteen miles west of 
the most westerly point of Shoshone (then called Madison) 
Lake. The nearly rectangular area thus resulting was 
found to lie mainly in the northwest corner of Wyoming, 
with narrow strips, two or three miles wide, overlapping 
into the Territories of Montana and Idaho. The mean 
dimensions of the Reservation were 61.8 miles by 53.6 
miles, giving an area of 3,312.5 square miles. 

Under Acts of Congress approved March 3, 1891, and 
June 4, 1897, authorizing the creation of forest reserves 
(now called national forests) and the modification of 
boundaries of reserves already created, several such crea¬ 
tions and changes have been made in the country bordering 
the Park until now the Park is surrounded by national 
forests with the exception of small tracts at the northern 
155 



156 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


and western entrances. Along the northern boundary are 
the Gallatin, Absaroka, and Beartooth forests, in the order 
named from west to east, with an aggregate area of 4,000 
square miles. On the east is the Shoshone forest extending 
south to the divide between the Shoshone and Snake River 
watersheds. Its area is 2,640 square miles. Adjoining 
this is the Teton forest, which lies along the southern border 
of the Park as far west as the crest of the Teton Mountains. 
The area of this reserve is 3,090 square miles. On the west 
of the Park are the Targhee and Madison forests with a 
combined area of 2,950 square miles. This makes a total 
area reserved from settlement of about 16,000 square miles. 

There have been many attempts to extend the boundaries 
of the Park proper so as to take in portions of the sur¬ 
rounding country now embraced in the national forests, par¬ 
ticularly the region known as Jackson Hole. The time is 
past, however, when this can be accomplished without a 
radical change in the present policy of governing the Park. 
Settlement has already gained a foothold in the surround¬ 
ing reserves which it would be difficult to uproot. The 
permanent exclusion of railroads from all parts of such 
an extensive territory is neither practicable nor desirable. 
The hunting of wild game throughout this region at certain 
seasons and under careful restrictions is eminently proper. 
In the Park itself it is desirable to exclude all these things 
and it has been found practicable to do so. The policy 
should be carefully maintained, and the Park is the only 
place of like extent in the world where this is possible. 
It will fall by its own weight if extended too far. 

The Indians, with that exquisite propriety which so 
often characterized their geographical nomenclature, called 
this larger region the “ summit of the world ”; and it is 
the summit of the world as they knew it—the top of the 
North American Continent. From out its forests and 
mountains great rivers descend in every direction. The 
Missouri River, through the Madison and Gallatin Forks, 
and the great tributaries, Yellowstone and Platte, flows 


BOUNDARIES AND TOrOGRAPHY 


157 


down from these mountains. Likewise Green River, the 
principal tributary of the Colorado of the West, rises in the 
snows of these same hills, and its icy waters flow south 
until they reach the sea on the very border of the torrid 
zone. Finally the great southern branch of the Columbia, 
the Snake River, finds its sources interlaced with those of 
the streams just mentioned. 

The vast importance of this region as a source of great 
river systems will be understood when it is remembered 
that each of these streams flows for fully a thousand miles 
through a country where agriculture is possible only by 
irrigation, and that their waters, if properly utilized, are 
capable of maintaining a population as great as that west 
of the longitude of Omaha to-day. Surely, it is not only 
the “ summit of the world,” but a veritable fountain head 
of national life, and there is a natural harmony of relation 
in the fact that this entire region has been brought under 
federal control. 


MOUNTAIN SYSTEMS 

Confining our inquiries to the Park proper, we shall next 
note its salient topographical features. The Park lies in 
the “ heart of the Rocky Mountains,” and within or around 
it are some of the most massive ranges on the continent. 
This is particularly true of the extensive system which 
borders the Park on the east under the name Absaroka. 
It extends north of the Park fully forty miles and south 
as far as Union Pass, where it merges into the noted Wind 
River range. It separates the valley of the Upper Yellow¬ 
stone from its principal tributary, the Big Horn. The 
range is excessively rugged and broken, and is practically 
impassable, except along a few trails. Sylvan Pass, which 
was selected for the eastern approach to the Park, is about 
eight thousand six hundred feet high, nearly a thousand 
feet lower than any other within a distance of forty miles. 
There are thirty named peaks of this range within the 


158 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Park with a ruling altitude of about ten thousand four 
hundred feet; but in the forest reserve, just east of the 
Park, the altitude is about two thousand feet higher. The 
scenery of these mountains is everywhere of a sublime and 
imposing character. 

The Gallatin Range, another important mountain system, 
lies in and beyond the northwest corner of the Park. It 
separates the watersheds of the Missouri and Yellowstone 
Rivers, and is the source of several tributaries of each 
stream. The range is one of great scenic beauty and one 
that falls prominently under the eye of the tourist. It is 
also of particular interest to scientists from its varied geo¬ 
logic structure. It is not a lofty range, its seventeen 
named peaks averaging only about nine thousand eight 
hundred feet high; but its highest summit, Electric Peak, 
is the loftiest mountain in the Park. 

The Washburn Range, a detached system, originally 
known as the “ Elephant’s Back,” is situated between the 
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Gardiner River. 
It has seven christened summits, with an average altitude 
of 9,800 feet. The most conspicuous peak of the range, 
as well as the most noted mountain of the Park, is Mt. 
Washburn. 

The Red Mountain Range is a small group of mountains 
between Heart and Lewis Lakes, southwest of Yellow¬ 
stone Lake. Its principal summit is Mt. Sheridan. 

The Big Game Ridge lies along the south boundary of 
the Park, and is the source of the Snake River. It has 
six named peaks, with an average altitude of 9,800 feet. 

The Teton Range lies south of the Park, its northern 
spurs crossing the boundary. It is not an extensive system, 
but one of great altitude and marvelous scenic beauty. 
The Grand Teton, its principal summit, is about 13,700 
feet high. The whole range rises in sheer relief nearly a 
mile and a half above the surface of Jackson Lake. 

The Continental Divide, or the “ height of land,” which 
separates the waters that flow into the Atlantic from those 


BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 


159 


which flow into the Pacific, crosses the Park in a direction 
from northwest to southeast. Its sinuous course can be 
best understood from the map. It does not lie along the 
crest of any prominent ridge, and in one place is but little 
higher than the Yellowstone Lake. A notable feature of 
the Divide is the great loop which it makes around the 
watershed of DeLacy Creek, a tributary of Shoshone Lake. 
The main tourist route passes directly through this area, 
and crosses the Continental Divide twice in a distance of 
seven miles. Another prominent feature of the Divide is 
Two-Ocean Pass, which lies just south of the Park.* 

DRAINAGE SYSTEMS 

The Absaroka and Gallatin Ranges and the Continental 
Divide mark the boundaries of the three great river sys¬ 
tems of the Park, the Yellowstone, the Missouri, and the 
Snake. The first two are on the Atlantic slope; the third 
on the Pacific. The areas drained by them are approxi¬ 
mately: by the Yellowstone, 1,900 square miles; by the 
Missouri, 730 square miles; by the Snake, 682 square miles. 

The Yellowstone River has its source in the snowdrifts 
of Yount Peak, twenty-five miles southeast of the Park. 
It enters the Reservation six miles west of the southeast 
corner; crosses it in a direction somewhat west of north, 
and leaves it at a point about nineteen miles east of the 
northwest corner. Near the center of the Park it flows 
through the celebrated lake of the same name, and further 
north passes through two remarkable canyons before it 
leaves the Reservation. Its principal tributaries from the 
east are Pelican Creek, which flows into the Lake, and 
Lamar River, commonly called the East Fork. Those 
from the west are Tower Creek and Gardiner River. 

Lamar River rises nearly due east of the outlet of 
Yellowstone Lake and flows northwesterly, joining the 


See page 296. 



160 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


main stream near Junction Butte. Its principal tributary 
is Soda Butte Creek, which rises just outside the north¬ 
east corner of the Park and joins the Lamar River near 
the extinct hot spring cone from which it derives its name. 

Gardiner River is the second largest tributary of the 
Yellowstone, and drains the extensive area between the 
Washburn and Gallatin Mountains. 

The low-water discharge of the Yellowstone River, as 
measured by the writer, in 1891, a little below the lake 
outlet, is 1,598 cubic feet per second; as measured by the 
United States Geological Survey, in 1886, 1,525 cubic feet. 
The discharge at the north boundary of the Park cannot 
be less than 2,000 cubic feet. 

The Missouri River drainage flows into the Gallatin and 
Madison forks of that stream. The Gallatin drains only a 
small area in the extreme northwest corner of the Park. 
The Madison is formed by the junction of the Gibbon and 
Firehole Rivers, about twelve miles east of the west bound¬ 
ary. The Gibbon takes its rise a few miles west of the 
Falls of the Yellowstone, and flows in a southwest direc¬ 
tion. The Firehole rises in Madison Lake, and flows north 
to its junction with the Gibbon. Its principal tributaries 
are the Little Firehole River and Iron Creek on the west, 
and Nez Perce Creek on the east. 

Snake River drains the southwest portion of the Park. 
It rises about fifteen miles south of Yellowstone Lake, just 
outside the boundary. It then takes a northerly circuit into 
the Park, receiving the waters of Heart and Lewis Rivers, 
and leaves the Reservation just north of Jackson Lake. 
Its principal tributary is the Lewis River, which drains 
Shoshone and Lewis Lakes. Several large streams, Bechler 
and Falls Rivers among them, cross the southwest boundary 
of the Park and join the main Snake further south. 

A noted stream, the main trunk of which lies outside 
the Park, is the Shoshone (formerly called Stinking 
Water) River, which rises in the national forest east of the 
Park. Several of its western tributaries, like Jones and 


BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 


161 


Middle Creeks, drain a considerable area in the Absaroka 
Range, east of the lake; and along the valley of the second 
of these streams is located the eastern entrance to the Park. 

These several rivers, with their tributaries, make about 
165 named streams in the Park. The abundance of flow¬ 
ing water as indicated by these figures, has an important 
bearing upon the practical side of the Park, considered as 
a pleasuring ground. The number of bridges and their 
liability to damage from floods are a constant and heavy 
expense to the road system. On the other hand, the pres¬ 
ence of so many streams, with the rapids and cataracts in 
which they abound, forms one of the most attractive fea¬ 
tures of the landscape. 

In the entire Park there are about thirty-six named lakes 
with a total area of nearly 165 square miles. Of these, 
twenty-one, with an area of 143 square miles, are on the 
Yellowstone slope; eight, with an area of perhaps two 
square miles, are on the Missouri slope; and seven, with 
an area of about twenty square miles, are on the Snake 
River slope. The four principal lakes—Yellowstone, Sho¬ 
shone, Lewis, and Heart—are clustered near the Conti¬ 
nental Divide at its lowest point, the first being on the 
Atlantic slope, and the others on the Pacific. 

There are upon the various streams of the Park no fewer 
than twenty-five interesting waterfalls, where the streams 
descend from the plateau to the lower surrounding country. 

VALLEYS 

Although mountains are the prime factors in determin¬ 
ing the topography of a country like the Yellowstone Park, 
they are, in a practical sense, of less importance than 
the valleys which lie between them and the streams of which 
they are the source. It is mainly in the valleys that the 
fauna of a region dwell, and that man carries on his 
work. In the Park it so happens that most of the char¬ 
acteristic attractions are also to be found there. 


162 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The valleys naturally fall into two broad divisions— 
open valleys and canyons. The largest and most important 
of the open valleys is that of the Yellowstone and Lamar 
Rivers, stretching from Mt. Washburn and Crescent Hill 
nearly to the east boundary of the Park. It is twenty-five 
miles long and five to ten broad. It is nearly all open 
country, with fine pasturage extending well up the sides 
of the mountains, forming an ideal grazing ground, where 
elk, deer, and antelope roam in immense herds. The 
western portion of this valley is a beautiful secluded nook 
at the foot of Crescent Hill and is known locally as 
u Yancey’s.” 

Hayden Valley, the second largest grassy tract, is that 
portion of the valley of the Upper Yellowstone which lies 
between Mud Geyser and the Grand Canyon. It is cov¬ 
ered with rich grass and is a splendid summer grazing 
ground. 

Among the other open valleys of importance are Swan 
Lake Flat and Willow Park, on the Upper Gardiner; Elk 
Park and Gibbon Meadows, on the Gibbon; the broad area 
of Pelican Valley; the Firehole Geyser Basins, more noted 
for their natural features than as a grazing country; and 
some open tracts around Shoshone and Lewis Lakes, and 
along the valleys of Falls and Bechler Rivers. 

Going outside the Park, the wonderful valley of Jackson 
Hole naturally arrests attention. The name applies strictly 
to the lower part of the valley below Jackson Lake. It is 
an extensive region, generally open and of rolling terrane, 
though in some places flat and even as a floor; abounding 
in fine pasturage, and a natural home for game of all kinds. 
It is traversed by the Snake River; dotted with several 
fine lakes, of which Jackson Lake is the largest, and sur¬ 
rounded by majestic mountain ranges. The Teton Range 
on the west is its most important scenic attraction. 

Canyons are the narrow openings among the hills 
through which the water from the mountains finds its way 
to the lower country. There are many of these in the 


BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 


163 


Park. On the Yellowstone, above the Great Bend at Liv¬ 
ingston, where the river finally leaves the mountains, there 
are four, the first two being outside the Park. The third 
begins just within the north boundary and extends nearly 
to Yancey’s. The fourth canyon extends from below Tower 
Falls to the Falls of the Yellowstone, a distance of twenty- 
five miles. Its central portion is the world-renowned 
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. 

Gardiner River has two fine canyons that come to the 
notice of the tourist. The first of these is near the north¬ 
ern entrance to the Park. The second lies behind Bunsen 
Peak, and is of great depth, beauty, and grandeur. 

On Gibbon River there is a small, but picturesque, 
canyon half a mile long, below Virginia Cascade, and an¬ 
other much larger extending for five miles below Gibbon 
Meadows. 

On the Firehole River there are two small gorges, inter¬ 
esting mainly for the cascades and rapids which are found 
there. One of them is where the tourist route first touches 
the river, five miles below the Fountain Hotel, and the other 
is in the vicinity of Kepler Cascade, above the Upper 
Geyser Basin. 

Spring Creek Canyon is a winding, sylvan valley, of very 
picturesque outline, through which Spring Creek flows in 
the last three miles of its course. It is traversed by the 
tourist route. 

On the eastern approach, Sylvan Pass is a very striking 
natural opening through the mountains, while the canyon of 
Middle Creek presents a remarkable scene of rugged, 
broken country, filled with dense forests, and traversed by 
a torrential mountain stream. 

There are hundreds of canyons besides those mentioned, 
where streams, like the Lamar River and its tributaries, 
and the Gallatin, Snake, and Upper Yellowstone, flow out 
from their sources in the mountain snows. Few visitors 
are fortunate enough ever to see them, and their beauties 
will always remain concealed from the general eye. 


164. THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


PLATEAUS 

A considerable portion of the Park area is composed of 
what may be termed plateaus—elevated tracts of land, not 
so high as the mountain ranges, but much higher than the 
valleys. Ordinarily, these are to be found along the divides 
between the larger streams. The more important are the 
Pitchstone Plateau, between Snake River and the head¬ 
waters of Bechler and Falls Rivers, with a mean altitude 
of 8,500 feet; Highland Plateau, between the Yellowstone 
and Madison Rivers, altitude 8,300 feet; Mirror Plateau, 
between the Yellowstone and Lamar Rivers, altitude 9,000 
feet; the Blacktail Deer Plateau, between the Yellowstone 
and Gardiner, altitude 7,000 feet; and the Madison 
Plateau, west of the Lower Geyser Basin, altitude 8,300 
feet. 


SCENERY 

The mountain scenery of the Park is that of the Rocky 
Mountains in general, though not so rugged and imposing 
as may be found in Colorado or in the Sierra Nevada 
and Cascade Ranges on the Pacific Slope. It is typical 
of the scenery of the central mountain region, perhaps 
the most varied and beautiful of any. The author cannot 
better convey a general idea of it than by reproducing here 
a description prepared for a different purpose.* 

The physical aspect of the Rocky Mountains is alto¬ 
gether characteristic. The traveler who passes hurriedly 
through them is liable to contrast unfavorably their gray 
color, severe outlines, and barren slopes with the verdure- 
clad hillsides of the Eastern States. Not so he who fre¬ 
quents their unaccustomed haunts, comes in close contact 
with their wild and picturesque details, and observes their 
varying moods with the changes of each day and the seasons 


* “ American Fur Trade of the Far West,” p. 728 et seq. 



BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 


165 


of the year. This more intimate acquaintance discloses a 
wealth of beauty which the uniform green of the Eastern 
mountains does not possess, and it is said by reputable 
painters of natural scenery, that no mountains in the world 
afford scenes more satisfactory to the artist. 

The general appearance of the mountains is of a grayish 
color where vegetation is scarce. This results not only 
from the exposed areas of rock in situ, but from the dis¬ 
integrated rock which covers the mountains in many 
places with a sterile soil. The reddish color of iron oxide 
is widely present, while yellow and other colors are of 
frequent occurrence. 

As a rule, the northern mountains have extensive grassy 
slopes whose broad areas, inclined upward as on a mighty 
easel, and spread out in rolling stretches with gentle de¬ 
pressions between them, look like beautiful carpets of green 
or brown, according to the season, softened by the mellow 
haze of distance and burnished by the crimson rays of the 
morning and evening sun. At the higher elevations, from 
five to ten thousand feet, forests of pine, fir, and similar 
trees abound extensively and cover the mountains with a 
mantle of dark green or black. At frequent intervals 
throughout these forests are open spaces, filled with luxuri¬ 
ant grass, forming parks of faultless beauty amid the 
somber solitudes of the surrounding woods. Everywhere 
in these wild and sublime situations occur the always pleas¬ 
ing groves of the quaking aspen, a grateful relief from the 
gloomy view of extensive forests or the uniform prospect 
of grass-covered slopes. Taken together, these varied ar¬ 
rangements of nature present an artistic appearance that 
reminds one of the cultivated sections in the mountain 
regions of Europe where man has contributed so much to 
enhance the beauty of nature. 

The scenery of these mountains, moreover, is subject to 
continual and interesting change. Scarcely have the bleak 
storms of winter subsided, while yet deep fields of snow 
lie upon the upper slopes, the soft blossoms of spring shoot 


166 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


eagerly from the scanty soil and oppose the gentle warmth 
of their blooms to the chill snow which is slowly receding 
before them. So profuse and beautiful are the flowers in 
these lofty regions that one would doubt if any other season 
could rival the springtime in beauty. But in truth, the 
somber season of autumn is the most attractive of all. 
The early frosts cover the mountain sides with the most 
varied and gorgeous colors. The quaking aspen, which 
before was simply a mass of green upon the mountain side, 
now stands forth with tenfold greater distinctness in its 
rich autumnal foliage. The low growth of underbrush, 
which scarcely attracts the eye at other seasons, takes on 
a livelier hue, transforming whole mountain sides into 
fields of pleasing color. Even upon those inaccessible and 
apparently barren slopes, where the eye had not before 
detected any sign of vegetable life, may now be seen spots 
of crimson and gold, as if nature had scattered here and 
there rich bouquets of flowers and bunches of fruit. 

It is not upon the surface of the earth alone that are to 
be seen the grandeur and beauty of these regions. Even 
the wild mountain storms which are frequent at certain 
seasons have an attraction peculiarly their own, and all the 
more remarkable by the very contrasts which they produce. 
If, in passing, they display on a terrible scale the power 
of the elements, on the other hand, they leave behind them, 
in the sun-gilded clouds among the mountain tops, the 
most peaceful and pleasing pictures which nature anywhere 
affords. 

Again, in the long rainless season, the atmosphere, like 
the painter’s brush, tints the hills, in ever-varying inten¬ 
sity, with the purple and blue of distance. For this is 
preeminently a land of cloudless skies. The risings and 
settings of the sun are on a scale of sublime magnificence, 
while the moon rides among the mountain peaks with a 
serene splendor unknown in less favored climes. 

It is in this mountain scenery that the chief attraction 
of the Park lies—for him who spends considerable time 


BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY 


167 


there. He may weary of the geysers and hot springs, but 
he always finds relief in the varied aspect of Nature—her 
shifting seasons, her growth and decay, her mutability 
amid scenes of changeless grandeur—and it would make 
little difference in his fondness for this region if all its 
strange and erratic phenomena should cease to exist. 


CHAPTER II 


GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PARK 

N ATURE seems from the first to have designed this 
region for a mountain park. Back in the remote 
twilight of the earth’s geological history, beyond which 
man is unable to trace the smallest relic of the past, and 
when the surface of the globe was one vast ocean with a 
few scattering islands, the nuclei of all subsequent land 
growths, there had already arisen around the Park country 
those granite protuberances which form the groundwork 
of its present mountain systems. Just what were the posi¬ 
tion and extent of these primeval elevations can never be 
definitely determined, but geologists agree that they existed 
on every side of the Park which itself remained buried 
beneath the waters long ages after their emergence. 

In the course of an inconceivable extent of time, em¬ 
bracing the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, these exposed 
areas were denuded by the action of the elements and the 
resulting detritus was spread over the bottom of the sur¬ 
rounding seas. Not improbably chemical action, in those 
times of intense activity of all natural agencies, may have 
hastened deposition from the impregnated waters and have 
aided in the upbuilding of the sedimentary rocks. From 
whatever cause, these deposits were of vast extent, their 
thickness in some localities, as measured by the geologist, 
being several thousand feet. Possibly during all this time 
there was an increasing emergence of old mountain founda¬ 
tions, bringing the outlines of the continent more and more 
prominently into view. 

In geologic chronology it was near the close of the 
Cretaceous Period that this long-existing condition under- 

168 


GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PARK 169 


went a profound change. The shrinkage of the earth in 
the process of cooling had thrown a strain upon its still 
weak and plastic crust which it was no longer able to with¬ 
stand. The old Archaean rocks and the vast sedimentary 
accumulations were crumpled and forced upward in 
stupendous wrinkles, forming lofty mountain ranges above 
the ancient sea. These movements may have been very 
slow, as we now reckon time, but they were rapid in a 
geologic sense. 

Very interesting would it be if the geologist could 
penetrate the lavas which now cover these ancient rocks, 
and make for us a map of the Park region as it then was. 
We may conjecture that the present surrounding mountain 
chains had taken form, and were probably more lofty and 
very different in appearance, owing to the vast changes of 
later times. It is also probable that the interior of the 
Park, which we now call its plateau, had arisen above the 
sea and that consequently the formation of sedimentary 
rocks had ceased. The interior basin was nevertheless a 
depressed area, relatively far deeper than at present. 
Whether there were folds or uplifts where Mts. Washburn 
and Sheridan now stand is uncertain, but the feeble resist¬ 
ance of the crust at these points in later times would indi¬ 
cate that there were. 

Now followed changes of great and far-reaching import¬ 
ance. The crushed and plicated earth-crust yielded to 
pressure from beneath, where the molten interior, com¬ 
pressed by the ever-increasing force of contraction, was 
seeking relief and expansion. Volcanic eruptions of wide 
extent and prodigious magnitude took place, and continued 
intermittently through Tertiary and into Quaternary time. 
There were evidently many and long periods of quiescence. 
The pent-up forces having expended their energy in one 
eruption remained inactive for a season. The ordinary 
atmospheric and vegetable agencies then asserted them¬ 
selves very much as at present, though probably with 
greater force and intensity. Meanwhile the imprisoned 


170 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


fires gathered new force, burst forth again, and destroyed 
the peaceful work that had gone on during the period of 
rest. Thus these opposite manifestations succeeded each 
other through long ages, until the reign of peace was estab¬ 
lished and the powers of violence and terror were per¬ 
manently dethroned. 

The lava outpourings during this period of volcanic 
activity have given our Park the broad outlines of the 
form in which we see it to-day, except as this has since 
been modified by the agencies of denudation and erosion. 
The earlier outpourings consisted mainly of andesitic 
breccias; the later of rhyolite, while all along there were 
smaller flows of basaltic lavas. The andesitic eruptions 
played their principal part in the upbuilding of the moun¬ 
tains. Over the greater part of the Absaroka and Gallatin 
Ranges the older granite and sedimentary rocks were 
buried beneath the lava, and the modern form of these 
mountains is that which time has wrought from out the 
igneous rocks. 

These volcanic outbursts were evidently not so much of 
the character of molten lava as in later times. In many 
places the heat was not sufficient to consume organic sub¬ 
stances, the forms of which have remained intact to the 
present time. The material was apparently not liquid 
enough to spread itself about like a lake, but instead 
banked up in the near neighborhood of eruption and thus 
promoted the building up of the mountains. It seems also 
to have been of a character that yielded readily to the 
agencies of erosion. 

There were several craters from which these lavas issued 
—two or more in the Absaroka Range, one in the Gallatin 
Range, and two, which interest us more, in the interior of 
the Park, Mt. Washburn and Mt. Sheridan. No one can 
stand on the summit of Mt. Washburn and look down upon 
the forest-covered amphitheater that forms the watershed 
of Tower Creek, without feeling instinctively that he is 
standing on the rim of an ancient crater, which was once 


GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PARK 171 

a seething caldron of molten lava, but is now clothed in a 
garb of beauty by the gentler agencies of nature. 

In the process of time the eruptive material from these 
volcanoes showed a marked change in character. The later 
flows were mostly of rhyolite. It is this rock that mainly 
composes the Park plateau. It was of a more liquid char¬ 
acter than the early outflows, and spread itself all over the 
country, filling up its depressions and elevating the general 
surface of the basin by more than a thousand feet. The 
rock has a great variety of superficial habit, from the soft 
friable material which grinds to powder under the wheels 
of wagons, to the glassy structure so prominent in Obsidian 
Cliff. Nine-tenths of all the rock which the tourist sees 
is of this character, though its varied forms might lead him 
to a different conclusion. 

Throughout the entire period of volcanic activity in this 
region there were limited outpourings of basalt, and the 
latest eruptions were of this character. Though small in 
extent, compared with the other rocks, it is the most 
important of all from a scenic point of view; for it always 
assumes a form that attracts attention. Prominent ex¬ 
amples may be seen in the Middle Gardiner Canyon at 
Osprey Falls, and along the banks of the Yellowstone near 
Tower Falls. 

Next in order of the great events in the geologic evolu¬ 
tion of the Park is the Glacial Epoch. Its work is every¬ 
where visible and certainly overspread the entire region. 
Unquestionably the Park was covered with one vast ice 
sheet, which even the warm ground where the hot springs 
were could not resist. Perhaps the most extensive and im¬ 
portant of all the glaciers was the one which debouched 
from the Third Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Lower 
Gardiner, into the valley below. It came from two sources 
—one in the Absaroka Range at the headwaters of Lamar 
River, and the other from the Gallatin Range, whence it 
moved eastward and curved around to the left over Terrace 
Mountain, joining the main ice stream in the Gardiner 


172 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Valley. The debris borne along by these combined glaciers 
are strewn everywhere throughout the north of the Park, 
and are particularly prominent in the valley of the Yellow¬ 
stone from the Park boundary north, halfway to Liv¬ 
ingston. In the Gibbon Canyon, near the Falls, are great 
accumulations of drift bowlders intermixed with mud. 
Hayden Valley and vast areas throughout the north of the 
Park are strewn with drift. One lone and impressive 
monument of this once mighty agency still rests in solitary 
grandeur on the bank of the Grand Canyon, near Inspira¬ 
tion Point. It is a huge granite bowlder and must have 
been brought to its present situation by the ice.* 

The glacier has been the main agency in giving the Park 
topography its present form; that is, it has done more than 
anything else to shape the valleys and hills and give the 
terrane its varied aspect, rounding and smoothing its ele¬ 
vations, plowing out its valleys, and scooping out the de¬ 
pressions for its lakes. It has a less enviable reputation 
with those to whom falls the practical task of preparing 
highways for travelers throughout the Park. No obstacle 
to road building is quite so formidable as the masses of 
drift bowlders so frequently encountered. They have cost 
the government thousands upon thousands of dollars. But 
they have been of great benefit in other ways, for the fine 
gravel beds are extensively used in building up a good 
road surface. One of these masses of gravel and sand is 
very remarkable and has proven a veritable gold mine to 
the government in its work around Mammoth Hot Springs. 
This is Capitol Hill, which is almost entirely built up of 
sand and gravel, some portions of which are very clean 
and free from loam, and mixed by nature in almost the 
identical proportions required for ordinary concrete. An¬ 
other similar deposit is found on Swan Lake Flat, from 
which the material for the Golden Gate viaduct was 
procured. 


See also page 304. 



GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PARK 173 


The events of the volcanic period of the Park history 
are preserved in one of the most perfect natural records 
which the researches of geologists have ever brought to 
light. The place known as the Fossil Forests of the 
Yellowstone is a deep exposure of the volcanic rocks caused 
by the erosion of the valley of Lamar River. It discloses 
several consecutive horizons of vegetable growth separated 
from each other by lava flows, which completely buried the 
subjacent growths and provided a foundation for those 
above. Beginning with the first or lowest, it is clear that 
conditions prevailed at the time which were highly favor¬ 
able to vegetable growth, and that these continued long 
enough for giant trees to attain mature size. After a time 
this season of growth was rudely interrupted by the violent 
outburst of a volcanic eruption. Vast masses of ejected 
material overwhelmed and submerged the land. In this 
particular locality the heat was not intense enough to con¬ 
sume the trees, although it killed them and probably 
reduced most of them to mere stubs. In the course of 
long ages the percolation of siliceous waters has turned the 
organic forms into stone by the process of substitution, and 
has thus preserved a most faithful picture of the vegetable 
life of that period, and an infallible proof of the agencies 
that destroyed it. 

Some of the petrifactions are very perfect. Roots, bark, 
parts showing incipient decay, worm holes, leaves—all are 
preserved with absolute fidelity. The rings of annual 
growth may be counted, and these indicate for the larger 
trees an age of not less than five hundred years. Some 
of the stumps are fully ten feet in diameter. Here and 
there the ponderous roots stand imbedded in the rock face 
of the cliff, where erosion has not yet undermined them. 
In one case, a large tree that had fallen before petrifaction 
lies partly exposed, both ends being still imbedded in the 
rock. Some hollow trees show interiors beautifully lined 
with holocrystalline quartz. 

After the first eruption had ceased a period of quies- 


174 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


cence followed, during which the ordinary atmospheric and 
aqueous agencies began work, eroding the surface in some 
places and depositing the products of erosion in others, 
while vegetation rapidly covered the newly-formed soil. 
A subsequent volcanic outburst destroyed this second growth 
and gave a new horizon, on which the same process was 
repeated. This continued until there were at least nine, 
and probably twelve, of these consecutive growths. 

How long it took each growth to reach maturity; how 
long each flourished afterward before destruction; and how 
long the several eruptions suspended vegetable life are mat¬ 
ters largely conjectural. But at the very lowest estimate 
the time represented by these various accumulations cannot 
be less than ten thousand years. 

That these early trees were of a different species from 
those which now flourish there need not excite surprise, 
for climatic and other conditions are wholly changed. But 
an equal difference seems also to have prevailed between 
the successive growths, the trees of which were not only 
unlike each other, but more than half of them hitherto 
unknown to science. Seventy species in all have been 
identified and described. 

The cessation of active eruptions with the later basalt 
outpourings did not mean the cessation of volcanic activity 
in this region. It has continued ever since in the form in 
which we see it to-day, although at one time far more 
widespread than at present. There is some evidence also 
that molten matter has been seen in certain localities in the 
Park within historic times. There is no doubt that the 
source of the energy which is seen to-day in the hot springs 
and geysers is identical with that which caused the erup¬ 
tions of former times. Attempts have been made to 
explain this heat as originating in chemical action, or from 
the retained heat of the lava flows; but there are insupera¬ 
ble objections to both theories. It is necessary to go back 
to the great reservoir of internal heat, which here, as in all 
volcanic regions, must be presumed to lie near the surface. 


GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE PARK 175 

One disquieting inference from this theory is that the 
security of our Park may not be as perfect as could be 
desired, and that the old pent-up forces may yet assert 
themselves with appalling results. 

The action of this internal heat, as seen in the thermal 
phenomena of the Park, has been very general over its 
area, but has nowhere produced any marked change in its 
topography. The terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs are 
the only considerable exception. They have wrought an 
extensive change on the mountain side where they are 
found, extending from the Gardiner River back three miles 
and up about 1,500 feet to the top of Terrace Mountain. 
In the other hot springs districts the changes consist only 
of comparatively thin incrustations built up of deposition 
from the hot waters. 

The period of time through which this thermal action 
has been going on is very great, and presumably dates from 
the last of the volcanic eruptions. It certainly antedates 
by a long period the Glacial Epoch, for drift is found on 
the summit of Terrace Mountain, which is itself a creation 
of hot springs deposits. Efforts have been made to measure 
the rate of deposition from the springs in the geyser basins, 
and to calculate therefrom the time required to do the work 
which has actually been done. The method is one of great 
difficulty and uncertainty, but indicates a minimum period 
of twenty-five thousand years. It is probably much greater 
than this. 

The area of hot springs action in the Park is very 
extensive, far more so than surface indications would lead 
one to suppose. All over the Park Plateau are to be found 
the products of decomposition of volcanic rock through 
the agency of steam and hot water. The remarkable 
coloring of the Grand Canyon is that of the various sub¬ 
stances formed by this decomposition. There are many 
other places in the Park where canyons like this might 
exist if the eroding agencies were there to carve them 
out. The government work in the building of roads 


176 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


throughout the Park has revealed the existence of “ forma¬ 
tion ” in many places where it would not be suspected from 
superficial appearances. 

The erosion of the Grand Canyon, one of the most mar¬ 
velous pieces of nature’s handiwork, is connected with 
another profound change in the topography of the Park. 
The surface of the Yellowstone Lake once stood 160 feet 
higher than at present, and its waters flowed through 
the narrow gorge of Outlet Creek into Heart Lake, and 
thence into Snake River, thus placing the entire watershed 
of the lake on the Pacific Slope. In those times the Con¬ 
tinental Divide passed over the summit of Mt. Washburn. 
Whether from some natural convulsion in this region, or 
the damming up of the southern outlet by Glacial ice, or 
from whatever cause, the waters of the lake found an 
outlet over the natural dam at the eastern base of Wash¬ 
burn, and began flowing north. The immense body of 
water stored in the lake and its overflow during the ages 
that have since elapsed have excavated this wonderful 
canyon in the decomposed rhyolite. The old shore line of 
the lake has been identified in many places. 

In the vast but unknown period since the great events 
which we have noted were complete, the only agencies which 
have modified the topography of the country, except the 
hot springs action, are those of denudation, erosion, and 
vegetable growth. The succession of the seasons, the action 
of wind and rain and snow, the growth of forests and other 
vegetation, the flow of the streams, have all been instru¬ 
mental in giving the Park its present actual appearance. 
No profound change has been produced by these agencies, 
but their influence upon the superficial aspect of nature 
has been very great. 


CHAPTEB III 


THE ROCKS OF THE PARK 

I T is an interesting but never-ending study, that of the 
rocks of the Yellowstone Park, and impossible of ex¬ 
tended treatment here; but that the reader may have 
some assistance in his attempt to identify them, if he 
visits the Park, the following references are given to the 
more important outcroppings along the main route. 

Upon entering the Park from the north the tourist 
alights in a bed of glacial drift and sees strewn all around 
him granite and other boulders brought down from the 
Gallatin and North Absaroka Eanges. 

The rock from which the entrance gate is built is from 
a basalt outcrop just across the Yellowstone from Gar¬ 
diner. Nearly every piece is a section of an hexagonal 
prism. 

The valley of the Gardiner along which the road lies is 
on the line of a fault where the earth’s crust parted, that 
on the right dropping down and that on the left lifting up, 
and forming the feature now known as Mt. Everts. It is 
mainly composed of sedimentary rocks—limestones and 
sandstones. Along the eastern portion is a covering of 
rhyolite distinctly prominent in the bold escarpment of 
which a salient angle fronts Bunsen Peak and the valley 
of the Middle Gardiner. 

Soon after the road leaves the river and begins the 
ascent of the hill it strikes the travertine deposits of Mam¬ 
moth Hot Springs. The road is cut through this formation 
in several places. 

In ascending the hill above Mammoth Hot Springs the 
road lies in the travertine most of the way for three miles, 

177 


178 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


and in one place passes through a remarkably confused mass 
of broken formation locally called the “ Hoodoos.” 

The Golden Gate Canyon is through rhyolite rock. 

The formation of Bunsen Peak is of dacite porphyry 
surrounded by rhyolite and basalt. A beautiful display of 
the latter rock may be seen in the walls of the Gardiner 
Canyon behind the mountain. 

Swan Lake Flat is covered, as the visitor will readily 
observe, with glacial drift. 

Near the seventh mile post, where the road crosses the 
Gardiner River, about a thousand feet up stream, may be 
seen a fine outcropping of basalt broken up into angular 
bowlders. Quantities of this rock have been crushed for 
use on the roads. 

The Gallatin Range, in full view, has many exposures 
of sedimentary rocks, limestone, and sandstone. 

Along the front of Mount Holmes, The Dome, and of 
Trilobite Point are exposures of the Archaean rocks, 
granite, and gneiss. 

The tourist route now lies almost wholly in the rhyolite 
rocks until Hayden Valley is reached. The appearances 
of this rock are very varied, one of the extreme forms 
being seen in Obsidian Cliff. In some places the rock is 
hard and weathers well, but as a general rule it is soft. 
This is the case in the picturesque exposures at Virginia 
Cascades and in the Gibbon Canyon above the falls, al¬ 
though at the sites of both these cataracts the rock is hard 
enough to resist the action of the water. 

All over the high plateau the road work has encoun¬ 
tered a rock which is largely glassy rhyolite or obsidian, 
and although it can be removed only by blasting, it crum¬ 
bles to pieces upon exposure. This characteristic accounts 
for the fact that in passing through the forests where this 
rock mostly abounds one would not suspect its presence 
except by digging into the ground. This condition pre¬ 
vails all along the road between Norris and the Grand 
Canyon. 


THE ROCKS OF THE PARK 


179 


On the shore of the Yellowstone Lake the road passes 
over lacustrine deposits for considerable distances which 
were laid down when the lake stood at its ancient level. 

Along the Yellowstone River from Mud Geyser to the 
head of the rapids the road lies all the way in glacial drift, 
which indeed extends along the river amid outcroppings 
of rhyolite to below the site of the Grand Canyon Hotel. 

Elsewhere reference is made to a remarkable granite 
bowlder laid down by glacial agencies on the brink of the 
canyon. 

The Grand Canyon is carved through decomposed 
rhyolite. 

On leaving the Grand Canyon Hotel for Mt. Washburn, 
the road across the undulating plain to the base of the 
mountain lies in glacial drift which overspreads in a thin 
coat the underlying rhyolite. 

Where the road crosses the east fork of Cascade Creek 
and begins the ascent of the mountain it enters the area 
of andesite rocks in the form of the early basic breccias. 

The road continues in this rock to the summit of the 
mountain and down the northern slope to within three 
miles of Tower Creek, where it again comes into an area 
of rhyolite. 

Glacial drift is everywhere found in the lower valley of 
Tower Creek. 

Andesites compose the bed of the Yellowstone all along 
the lower course of the Grand Canyon. Below Tower Falls 
this is capped by a conglomerate of “ gneissic and andesitic 
pebbles in friable sandstone,” and this by a wonderful 
wall of columnar basalt. 

Rising from the bottom of the canyon a mile below 
Tower Falls is a stately, isolated column of rock that has 
resisted the wear of time. It is 260 feet high, but does 
not rise to the level of the basalt. 

The road from the Yellowstone to the top of Crescent 
hill divide lies mainly in the early acid and basic breccias, 
or andesitic lavas. 


180 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


All over these portions of the Park, beginning on the 
northern slopes of Washburn and extending east to Soda 
Butte, the ground is strewn with “ specimens ” of various 
sorts—agate, chalcedony, onyx, jasper, garnets, amethyst, 
etc. The names Specimen Ridge, Garnet Hill Amethyst 
Creek, and several others took their rise from this circum¬ 
stance. 

The ride across the high plateau from Crescent Hill to 
the Gardiner River is everywhere through the glacial drift, 
but with frequent outcroppings of rock in situ. Basalt and 
early acid breccias (andesite) are prevailing rocks, with 
an outcropping of limestone near the crest of the slope 
descending to Black-tail-deer Creek. 

The immediate valley of this stream is composed of 
rhyolite, but the basalt recurs again along the east Gar¬ 
diner, and the beautiful Undine Falls is over this rock. 
The canyon for a considerable distance along the hillside 
below the falls is carved out of the same material. 

From the high ground where the road emerges from 
Crescent Hill Canyon a splendid view is had of the country 
across the Yellowstone River. The mountains there are 
composed mainly of Archaean rocks, and in these are found 
the only gold and silver veins in the Park. 


CHAPTER IY 


GEYSERS 

T HE hot springs of the Yellowstone Park may be 
roughly divided into two classes, eruptive and non- 
eruptive. To the first the term geyser is applied, while 
the term hot springs is restricted to the second. These 
two classes pass into each other by insensible gradations 
and the line of demarcation it is not possible to draw. 
The following description pertains only to those examples 
about which there is no doubt, and which may be taken 
as types of their class. 

A geyser may be defined as a periodically eruptive hot 
spring. The name, as might be expected, is of Icelandic 
origin, and comes from the verb geysa, to gush. The gen¬ 
eral characteristics of a true geyser, as illustrated by the 
most perfect example known, Old Faithful, in the Yellow¬ 
stone Park, are the following: 

(1) There is an irregular tube descending from the 
earth’s surface to some interior source of heat. 

(2) The mouth of this tube may be either a self-built 
mound or cone (as in the example), or simply an open 
pool. 

(3) Into this tube meteoric water finds its way and is 
subjected to the action of heat. 

(4) The result is an eruption and expulsion of the 
water from the tube with more or less violence. 

(5) The eruption is generally preceded by preliminary 
upheavals leading gradually to the final outburst. 

(6) After cessation of the eruption there is a heavy 
escape of steam. 


181 


182 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


(7) A quiescent period, generally of indeterminate dura¬ 
tion, follows during which the conditions necessary for an 
eruption are reproduced. 

Geyser phenomena have attracted a great deal of scien¬ 
tific attention, and many theories have been advanced to 
explain them. Passing over for the present the less impor¬ 
tant, attention will first be given to Bunsen’s theory, be¬ 
cause it is, upon the whole, the most satisfactory yet 
advanced. This theory was a direct deduction from ob¬ 
servations upon the Great Geyser of Iceland, and has been 
experimentally illustrated by artificial examples. 

The fundamental principle upon which it is based is 
the well-known fact that the temperature of the boiling 
point of water varies with the pressure to which the water 
is subjected. At the sea level, under the pressure of one 
atmosphere (fifteen pounds to the square inch), the boiling 
point is about 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Under a pressure 
of two atmospheres it is 250 degrees; of three, 275 de¬ 
grees; of four, 293 degrees, and so on. At an altitude like 
that of the Park plateau, where the atmospheric pressure 
is much less than at sea level, the normal boiling point 
is about 198 degrees, but the law of variation due to 
pressure applies exactly as in lower altitudes. 

If water, subjected to great pressure, be heated to a 
temperature considerably above that of its normal boiling 
point, and if then the pressure be suddenly relieved, it 
will almost instantaneously be converted into steam; a fact 
which operates to enhance the danger from the explosion 
of steam boilers. In the case of an ordinary geyser, it is 
readily seen that in the long irregular tube descending 
to great depths there are present the necessary conditions 
for subjecting the water to great pressure. At the surface 
the pressure is that of the weight of the atmosphere cor¬ 
responding to the altitude; at a certain depth below (34.5 
feet at the sea level, but less at higher altitudes) it is 
twice as great; at double this depth three times as great, 
and so on. 


GEYSERS 


183 


Suppose, now, that there is an interior heat at some 
point along the geyser tube well below the surface. The 
boiling point of water in the vicinity of the heat supply 
will be higher than at the surface in definite relation to 
its distance down. If the tube be of large diameter and 
the circulation quite free, the water will never reach this 
temperature, for it will rise nearer the top, where the 
boiling point is lower, and will pass off in steam. The 
spring will thus be simply a boiling or quiescent spring. 
But if the tube be comparatively small and if the circula¬ 
tion be in any way impeded, the temperature at the source 
of heat will rise until it reaches a boiling point correspond¬ 
ing to its depth. Steam will result, and will rise through 
the water, gradually increasing the temperature in the 
upper portions of the tube. After a time the water 
throughout the entire tube becomes heated nearly to the 
boiling point and can no longer condense the steam rising 
from below, which then accumulates until its expansive 
power is great enough to lift the column above and project 
some of the water from the tube. This lessens the weight 
of the column and relieves the pressure at every point. 
In places where the water had been just below the boiling 
point, it is now above, and more steam is rapidly pro¬ 
duced. This throws out more water, still further lightens 
the column, and causes the generation of more steam, 
until finally the whole contents of the tube are ejected 
with terrific violence. 

From this explanation it is apparent that anything 
which impedes the circulation of water in the geyser tube 
will expedite the eruption. The well-known effect of 
“ soaping geysers ” may thus be accounted for. As oil 
thrown upon waves gives a viscosity to the surface, which 
greatly moderates their violence, so the addition of soap 
or lye makes the water of the geyser tube less free to cir¬ 
culate, and thus hastens the conditions necessary to an 
eruption. 

The apparently contrary process of violently agitating 


184 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the water of the geyser, as by stirring it with a stick, some¬ 
times produces the same effect; but this results from 
the sudden forcing upward of masses of superheated 
water, instead of allowing them to rise and gradually 
cool. 

That Bunsen’s theory really explains the phenomena of 
geyser action there can be little doubt. It is true that in 
no single geyser does one find a perfect example. Typical 
conditions probably never exist. The point of application 
of heat; the mode of application, whether from the heated 
surface of rocks or from superheated steam issuing into 
the tube; the diameter and form of the tube; the 
point of inflow of the cold water, are all matters 
which influence the eruption and determine its char¬ 
acter. In the endless variety of conditions in nature 
one need not wonder at the varying results. He should 
rather wonder that in a single instance nature has pro¬ 
duced a combination of such perfection as is found in 
Old Faithful, which for thousands of years has performed 
its duty with the regularity of clockwork. 

There are various other theories, each with some par¬ 
ticular merit, which may be briefly referred to. Sir George 
Mackenzie, who visited Iceland in 1810-11, thought the 
geyser tube at some point beneath the surface curved to 
one side and then upward, communicating with a chamber 
in the immediate vicinity of the source of heat. The water 
in this chamber becomes heated above the boiling point, 
and, expanding, forces the water into the tube until the 
chamber is finally emptied to the level of its outlet. Any 
further expulsion of water lessens the weight of the column 
above. Bunsen’s theory comes into play, and with the 
accumulated pressure of the steam in the chamber, pro¬ 
duces a violent eruption. 

Professor Comstock, who visited the Park in 1873, 
thought that there were two chambers, the lower being in 
contact with the source of heat, and the upper acting as 
a sort of trap in the geyser tube. After a sufficient force 





Haynes Photo St. Paul 


Old Faithful Geyser 








GEYSERS 


18 5 


of steam has accumulated in the lower chamber, it ejects 
the contents of the chamber above. 

S. Baring-Gould, who visited Iceland in 1863, observed 
that if a tube be bent into two arms of unequal length, 
the shorter of which is closed, and if the tube be filled 
with water and the shorter arm then heated, all the char¬ 
acteristic phenomena of geyser action result, the water 
being finally ejected with explosive violence from the longer 
tube. 

Now, it is probable that in nature each of these theories 
may find illustration, but it must still be acknowledged 
that in all cases Bunsen’s theory is the partial explanation, 
and in many the only adequate one. 

The most superficial examination of the geysers in the 
Park will disclose two widely different classes as regards 
their external appearance and mode of eruption—the foun¬ 
tain geysers and the cone geysers. 

In the fountain geyser there is no cone or mound, but 
in its place a considerable pool, which in intervals of rest 
bears a perfect resemblance to the larger quiescent springs. 
The eruption generally consists of a succession of pro¬ 
digious impulses by which large masses of water are thrown 
up one after another. There is ordinarily no continuous 
jet. To geysers of this class, Mackenzie’s and Comstock’s 
theories would seem to find closer application than to any 
others. Noted examples are the Fountain, the Great Foun¬ 
tain, the Grand, and the Giantess Geysers. 

The cone geysers, on the other hand, have no pool about 
the crater and water is not generally visible in the tube. 
There is a self-built cone of greater or less prominence, 
ranging from a broad, gently-sloping mound, like that of 
Old Faithful, to a huge cone like that of the Castle. The 
eruptions from these geysers usually take the form of a 
continuous jet, and are more in accordance with the theory 
of Bunsen. Prominent examples are the Giant, Castle, 
Old Faithful, Lone Star, and Union. 

An interesting and singular fact pertaining to this 


186 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


region is that in most cases the springs and geysers have 
no underground connection with one another. Water in 
contiguous pools stands at different levels, and powerful 
geysers play with no apparent effect upon others near by. 

It is another interesting question to know whence comes 
the water for these geysers and hot springs. Into the 
hidden caverns of Old Faithful flow perhaps a quarter 
of a million gallons per hour. This is a large stream, 
but it is a mere trifle compared with the entire outflow of 
hot water throughout the Park. The subterranean pas¬ 
sages by which the necessary supply is furnished to all 
these thousands of springs, certainly constitute the most 
intricate and extensive system of water-works of which 
there is any knowledge. 

Not the least wonderful of the features of the great 
geysers are the marvelous formations which surround 
them, more exquisitely beautiful than any production of 
art. They are much finer than those to be found around 
the ordinary quiescent springs. The falling or dashing 
of the hot water seems to be essential to the most perfect 
results. To say that these rocky formations simulate cauli¬ 
flower, sponge, fleeces of wool, flowers, or bead-work, con¬ 
veys but a feeble idea of their marvelous beauty. It is 
indeed a most interesting fact that nature here produces 
in stone, by the process of deposition, the identical forms 
elsewhere produced by the very different processes of 
animal and vegetable life. 

These formations are all silica and are of flinty hard¬ 
ness. Bunsen, and Professor Le Conte following him, 
assert it to be a rule that the presence of silica in the 
water is essential to the development of a geyser. In one 
sense this is true, and in another it is not. Should the 
heated waters find a ready-made tube, like a fissure in 
solid rock, this would serve for a geyser tube as well as 
any other. The Monarch geyser, in Norris Geyser Basin, 
seems to have originated in this way. But in the general 
case, geyser tubes are built up, not found ready made. 


GEYSERS 


187 


In such cases silica is an indispensable ingredient of the 
water. A calcareous deposit, like that at Mammoth Hot 
Springs, would lack strength to resist the violent strain 
of an eruption. So it is found to be a fact that silica is 
the chief mineral in the water of all important geysers. 


CHAPTER V 


HOT SPRINGS AND KINDRED FEATURES 

U NDER this general head will be included all the 
various forms of thermal activity in the Park except 
the geysers, viz.: the quiescent springs, boiling springs, 
mud springs or paint pots, the steam vents, and fumaroles. 

QUIESCENT SPRINGS 

The quiescent spring stands at the opposite pole from 
the geyser. The conditions are such that the water no¬ 
where reaches the boiling point, and the surface steams 
quietly away unruffled except by the passing breeze. 
There is not the smallest suggestion of the turbulence and 
violent energy of the geyser, but its whole behavior is list¬ 
less and peaceful. In keeping with this character is the 
inimitable beauty of its soft blue waters. It is not simply 
the cerulean hue of great depths of clear water. In ordi¬ 
nary pools, however deep and clear, one does not find all 
the colors of the spectrum, flitting about, as though seen 
through a revolving prism. Sometimes there is an iri¬ 
descent effect similar to that of a film of oil upon water; 
but there is no oil here. There are doubtless many con¬ 
tributing causes that produce these remarkable effects. 
There is first a great depth of clear water which always 
presents a beautiful appearance. Then there are the min¬ 
eral deposits on the sides of the crater, producing indefinite 
reflection, the effects of which are multiplied by the refrac¬ 
tive power of the water. The mineral ingredients dis¬ 
solved or suspended in the water doubtless add to the effect. 
The rims about the quiescent springs are often very 
188 


HOT SPRINGS AND KINDRED FEATURES 189 


beautiful, and the observer is astonished to see how they 
stand up above the general surface of the ground so evenly 
built that the water has hardly a choice of route in flowing 
away. Tyndall, however, makes this puzzling phenomenon 
clear. He says : 

“ Imagine the case of a simple thermal siliceous spring, 
whose waters trickle down a gentle incline; the water thus 
exposed evaporates speedily, and silica is deposited. This 
deposit gradually elevates the side over which the water 
passes, until finally the latter has to take another course. 
The same takes place here; the ground is elevated as before, 
and the spring has to move forward. Thus it is compelled 
to travel round and round, discharging its silica and deep¬ 
ening the shaft in which it dwells, until finally, in the 
course of ages, the simple spring has produced that won¬ 
derful apparatus which has so long puzzled and astonished 
both the traveler and the philosopher/’ 

What will astonish the visitor even more is the fact that 
this building up is often the result of vegetable growth. 
The heat of the water would seem incompatible with the 
existence of life within it; but it is not so. Low forms of 
algous growth abound in nearly all the springs where the 
temperature is below 185 degrees Fahrenheit. The soft, 
slippery, colored substance that borders many of the springs 
and the rivulets which flow from them is a form of vege¬ 
table life—very elementary, it is true, but still life. 

As in the case of the geysers, so in that of these quiescent 
springs, there is an almost infinite variety; but popular 
interest attaches mainly to those like the Morning Glory, 
which are gems of such beauty that they stand unrivaled 
among the works of nature or art. There are several ex¬ 
amples of this higher order in the Park. The Morning 
Glory is the most beautiful in the Upper Geyser Basin. 
Prismatic Lake and Turquoise Pool in the Midway Basin 
are the largest in the Park. There is a very beautiful one 
on the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake a hundred yards 
from the road junction. 


190 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The celebrated Mammoth Hot Springs on the Gardiner 
River are quite different from those in any other part of 
the Park, although in beauty of coloring they resemble 
and possibly excel the finer examples in the geyser basins. 
The water of these springs holds carbonate of lime in 
solution, while most of the others contain silica. To this 
fact must be attributed the peculiar character of the 
formations at Mammoth Hot Springs. Wherever the de¬ 
posits of springs are calcareous, the character of the forma¬ 
tions is different from those produced by the deposit of 
silica. They rise in terraces one above another, and mold 
for themselves overhanging bowls of transcendent beauty 
in form and color. 

The quantity of mineral matter held in these calcareous 
waters is astonishing, and its rate of deposition is very 
rapid. Consequently, the growth of the “ formation ” is 
rapid, and beautiful bowls and terraces are built up in one 
or two seasons. The rapidity of deposit is so great that 
commercial advantage is taken of it, and a licensed resi¬ 
dent of the Park follows the business of coating specimens 
in these springs and selling them to the public. He would 
soon go out of business if compelled to await the slow 
process of the silica waters. 

But if the growth of these deposits is rapid, their 
permanence is unfortunately much less than that of other 
formations. The subterranean channels are weak and give 
way easily to pressure. New outlets break forth and the 
general history of the springs is that of constant change. 
How extensive and rapid this has been in the past is evi¬ 
denced by the presence of full-grown trees which are still 
standing, though killed and partly buried by the deposit. 

There are many other forms of quiescent springs 
throughout the Park. Some are simply open pools, filled 
with turbid water, exhibiting no beauty or attractiveness. 
Others are densely muddy and positively repulsive. In the 
lower geyser basin there is an extensive pond or lake of 
hot water, besides several of smaller size, in all of which 


HOT SPRINGS AND KINDRED FEATURES 191 

the water has a dark, almost black, color. It is one of 
these springs that is called the Firehole, from the appear¬ 
ance of a lambent light blue flame beneath the water, 
caused by the escape of superheated steam from a fissure in 
the rock. 

BOILING SPRINGS 

The boiling spring is intermediate between the quiescent 
spring and the geyser. The circulation is sufficiently free 
to prevent a great rise of temperature in the lower depths 
of the tube, and nothing more than a surface ebullition, 
often extremely violent, results. These springs are gener¬ 
ally objects of secondary interest. They are simply 
enormous caldrons, but in some instances they exhibit pe¬ 
culiarities which are very interesting. Several of them 
show a geyseric tendency, in which the eruptive force is 
expended before it can produce any decisive result. Among 
the more important of these features is Beryl Spring, in 
the Gibbon Canyon, on the right bank of the river, close 
to the road. It discharges a large volume of hot water. 
There is another and larger spring in the valley of the 
Gibbon near its mouth and close by the side of the road 
leading into the Park from the west. There are several 
of these springs in the Firehole Geyser basins. Excelsior 
Geyser, from its very infrequent eruptions, may more prop¬ 
erly be considered a boiling spring. The quantity of water 
that it discharges is enormous. Norris Geyser Basin has 
a few of these springs, though none of particular interest. 
On the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake, near the road¬ 
way, is a large boiling spring, the waters of which have 
a faint muddy tinge. Perhaps the most interesting fea¬ 
ture of this class in the Park is Sulphur Spring, a pseudo¬ 
geyser at the west base of Sulphur Mountain. Its ebulli¬ 
tion is extremely spasmodic and violent, but the discharge 
of water very small. It is heavily charged with sulphur 
and the rim of the pool and edges of the stream carrying 
the overflow are bordered with brilliant yellow. 


192 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Between the true quiescent spring and the boiling spring 
there is every gradation. The various examples can be 
numbered by the thousands and no two are alike. Every 
spring has its own individual character. 

<e FRYING PAN” SPRINGS 

A peculiar phenomenon to which it is difficult to assign 
a distinctive name, is exemplified in the feature called the 
“ Devil’s Frying Pan,” three miles north of the Norris 
Geyser Basin. It is a true reproduction, upon a large 
scale, of the appearance of the ordinary frying pan. This 
phenomenon has a wide distribution, and something resem¬ 
bling it may be found in certain pools or lakes, the bottoms 
of which are apparently full of the bubbling vents. The 
most striking example is Turbid Lake, which lies a short 
distance from the east shore of the Yellowstone Lake. It 
is a considerable body of water, at least half a mile across, 
and is fed by the purest streams of the mountains. But 
nearly its entire bottom is overspread with these vents, and 
the steam and gas from them escape in feeble bubbles at 
the top. The whole appearance is like that of a tub of 
water that has been used in washing* The outlet of the 
lake is a turbid stream, not capable of sustaining fish. 

MUD SPRINGS 

A characteristic and interesting class of phenomena are 
the mud springs that abound in all parts of the Park. 
They present an almost endless variety of form and aspect, 
but there are only two that need now detain us—the “ paint 
pots ” and the eruptive springs, like the Mud Geyser on the 
Yellowstone River. 

The Paint Pots, as they are now always called, are 
extremely curious phenomena. They are caused by the 
rising of steam through considerable depths of earthy ma¬ 
terial. The water is just sufficient in quantity to keep the 


HOT SPRINGS AND KINDRED FEATURES 193 


material in a plastic condition, and the steam operates 
upon it precisely as it does upon a kettle of thick mush. 
Generally there are various mineral ingredients, mostly 
oxides of iron, which impart different colors to different 
parts of the group. As the steam puffs up here and there 
from the thick mass, it forms the mud into a variety of 
imitative figures, prominent among which is that of the 
lily. These figures immediately sink back into the general 
mass, only to be formed anew by other puffs of steam. The 
material is so fine as to be almost impalpable between the 
fingers. Lieutenant Doane, however, justly observes that 
“ mortar might well be good after being constantly worked 
for perhaps ten thousand years.” This “ mortar ” has actu¬ 
ally been used with good results in “ calsomining ” walls. 

The Paint Pots, in one form or another, are found in 
a great many situations, but there are only three localities 
where they are grouped in sufficient number to attract es¬ 
pecial interest. These are the Gibbon Paint Pots on the 
border of the Gibbon Meadows, east of the road, rarely seen 
by tourists; the Mammoth Paint Pots directly in front of 
the Fountain Hotel and near the Fountain Geyser, and a 
group on the west shore of the Yellowstone Lake, near the 
road junction. 

Mud Geyser (or Mud Volcano, as it was originally and 
more properly called) is considered by many the most 
extraordinary and wonderful feature in the Park. In 
point of beauty it stands at the antipodes of the quiescent 
pool. It is uncanny, repulsive, and suggestive of every¬ 
thing horrible and uncouth. A similar feature is found 
in the Devil’s Inkstand, on the northern face of Mt. Wash¬ 
burn. 

STEAM VENTS 

The steam vents exhibit still another striking form of 
the thermal phenomena of this region. They exist where 
surface water is apparently lacking and where there is a 
vast quantity of steam generated far below. The result is 


194- THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


that there is no accumulation of water in the tube, which 
might eventuate in an eruption, but it is all blown out in 
tine mist as fast as it runs in. The most prominent exam¬ 
ple is in Norris Geyser Basin where, within a small area, 
there are several of these vents. For many years the 
Growler and Hurricane held the record as steam producers, 
but lately they have yielded a part of their vigor to a new 
vent which exhibits greater power than either of its prede¬ 
cessors. The force of the steam as it comes from these 
vents is terrific. A large quantity of water is blown out 
in the form of mist and the rain that falls on the leeward 
side of the steam column is like the perpetual shower at the 
base of Niagara. 

Roaring Mountain has one of these powerful vents near 
the summit. There is another large one on the east shore 
of the Yellowstone Lake, called Steamboat Spring, and 
there are many smaller ones in different localities. 

FUMAROLES 

The fumaroles are small vents from which the steam 
escapes quietly and without any marked exhibition of force. 
They are found all over the Park, but it is only in cold, 
damp weather when the steam is rapidly condensed, that 
their actual frequency can be appreciated. 

Many of the stream sources throughout the Park are 
warm. Springs that have every appearance of being cold 
are often found, upon examination, to have temperatures 
above the normal for spring water. In fact, the whole 
country is in a heated condition near the surface, and the 
evidences thereof are so numerous and frequent that they 
cease to attract attention from those who are familiar with 
them. 

Reference has already been made to the fact that mineral 
ingredients in the hot springs of the plateau are composed 
mainly of silica, while those at Mammoth Hot Springs are 
nearly pure travertine. The hot waters in the latter case 


HOT SPRINGS AND KINDRED FEATURES 195 

have decomposed the underlying limestone which is here 
near the surface, whereas farther out in the Park the min¬ 
eral ingredients come almost exclusively from the lavas in 
which there is only a trace of carbonic acid. This differ¬ 
ence in composition produces the great difference in the 
superficial appearance of the deposits. Nothing could be 
more unlike than the formations at Mammoth Hot Springs 
and those around the Great Fountain or Old Faithful 
Geyser; yet each in its way is a transcendently beautiful 
specimen of nature’s handiwork. 

The temperature of the thermal springs of the Park 
varies all the way from cold spring water up to the boiling 
point, 198 degrees. In the geysers it rises above the boil¬ 
ing point, though, from the nature of the case, the measur¬ 
ing of such temperature is practically impossible. In a 
few instances temperatures of 200 degrees have been re¬ 
corded. 

The following table gives an analysis of the principal 
waters of the Park. It is the work of the Chemical Labo¬ 
ratory of the United States Geological Survey, and was 
performed by Frank Austin Gooch and James Edward 
Whitfield: 


Analyses of TI aters of the Yellowstone Park. The amounts are grammes per kilogramme . 


196 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


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CHAPTER VI 


THE CLIMATE OF THE PARK 


T HE climate of the Park takes its character from the 
northern arid region of the West, modified by high 
altitude and mountain topography. It is much more humid 
than that of the lower surrounding country and the ex¬ 
tremes of heat and cold are less pronounced. The mean 
monthly temperatures at Mammoth Hot Springs, based 
upon ten years* observation (1891-1900), range from 18.3 
degrees Fahrenheit in January to 61.2 in July. The ex¬ 
tremes vary from 25 below zero to 90 above. The follow¬ 
ing table, based upon five years’ (1908-12) rather imper¬ 
fect observations, gives in general terms the variation in 
degrees from Mammoth Hot Springs temperatures of 
those at the other principal points in the Park. Minus 
indicates that the temperatures are less, and plus that they 
are greater than at the Springs. 

Variations of Temperature from those at Mammoth Hot 
Springs. (.Altitude 6,200.) 


Locality. 

Altitude. 

Annual 

Mean. 

Monthly Mean. 

Maximum 

Minimum. 

Tower Fall . 

6264 

—2 

+3 

—12 

Soda Butte. 

6500 

—4 

0 

—16 

Norris . 

7483 

—6 

—4 

—21 

West Entrance . 

6688 

—3 

+2 

—15 

Upper Basin . 

7365 

—6 

—4 

—21 

Grand Canyon . 

7733 

—6 

—3 

—18 

Lake Outlet. 

7750 

—7 

—4 

—17 

Thumb . 

7750 

—5 

0 

—14 

South Entrance . 

6882 

—4 

-|-2 

—17 

Sylvan Pass. 

8650 

—3 

+2 

— 8 


197 

























198 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

The highest temperature, 93 degres, occurred at Tower 
Fall; the lowest, 54 below zero, at Norris. Mammoth 
Hot Springs is decidedly the warmest of the important 
localities within the Park, its mean temperatures averaging 
about 3 degrees higher than those of approximately the same 
altitudes at Tower Fall, West Entrance, and Soda Butte; 
and about 5 degrees higher than those on the Park Plateau. 
There is not much difference in the summer maxima, but 
the winter minima are much higher, as shown in column 
three. In other words, about the same high temperatures 
prevail in summer regardless of the altitude, but the win¬ 
ter’s cold increases greatly with the altitude. It may be 
noted that the temperature at Gardiner, on the north 
boundary, 1,000 feet lower than at Mammoth Hot Springs, 
is higher on the average, though no records are available 
to show how much; but the difference itself is abundantly 
shown by the fact that there is very little sleighing 
at Gardiner, while there are several months of good 
sleighing at the Springs. This condition results in a great 
practical inconvenience to winter travel between the two 
points; for with snow too deep at Mammoth for automo¬ 
biles, there is usually not enough for sleds at Gardiner. 

One singular exception to the rule that temperatures 
diminish with an increase in altitude is found in Sylvan 
Pass, which seems to be the warmest place in the Park 
except Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner, although its 
altitude is much greater than those of any of the other 
points recorded. 

Another singular fact is that the temperatures at the 
outlet of Yellowstone Lake average about 3 degrees lower 
than at the Thumb on the west shore, though the altitudes 
are alike. The extensive Hot Springs Basin may cause 
the difference. 

Norris holds the record as the coldest point in the 
Reservation where observations have been made. 

Precipitation in the Park seems to be even more de¬ 
pendent upon altitude than is the temperature. At Mam- 


THE CLIMATE OF THE PARK 


199 


moth Hot Springs the mean annual precipitation is 19 
inches and it is about the same at other points of like 
elevation. This is five to six inches greater than in the 
lower country below the Park, but five to six inches less 
than on the Park plateau. The average depth of snowfall 
at Mammoth (ten years’ record) is 103 inches, with a 
maximum of 148 inches. In the upper Park there are 
records of 22 feet and no doubt 30 feet is not uncommon 
in the higher altitudes. The weight of these heavy snow¬ 
falls often destroys bridge railings and light buildings, and 
it shows its effects everywhere upon forest trees. Drifts 
accumulate in enormous magnitude, and numberless ava¬ 
lanches fall from the mountain sides every winter. Never¬ 
theless it is not until late in the season that the fall of 
the snow really blockades travel, and it would doubtless be 
possible to maintain open roads the year round. The great 
depth of the light snow conveys an exaggerated idea of 
its real mass. It settles rapidly and evaporates like water 
in the summer time, though, of course, less rapidly. Even 
with the temperature below the freezing point the snow 
disappears with noticeable progress. 

The dry season of the Park occurs in July and August 
and it is a source of much discomfort to tourists because 
no means has yet been devised for effectually controlling 
dust on the roads. In the upper Park there are always 
snowstorms in June and September. Ordinarily there is 
a great deal of clear weather and only small accumulations 
of snow in the first half of winter, and the heavy snowfalls 
come just as winter is merging into spring. 

The atmosphere in the Park is remarkably free of fogs 
and clouds and the proportion of all-clear days is fully 
fifty per cent. The skies are of that beautiful clearness 
that makes one feel as if the confines of the universe were 
very near. When the air is still, trees and other objects 
stand out with an almost obtrusive vividness. 

Take it in all its phases, the climate of the Park is as 
delightful and health-giving as it is possible to find. Few 


200 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of the ordinary causes of disease which pervade the at¬ 
mosphere or reside in the water in lower altitudes are 
found here. The winter climate is undoubtedly more 
healthy for northern people than the southern resorts which 
are so much patronized. In the Park the conditions of 
genuine winter are expected and provided for. Heating 
and clothing are adapted to the climate. In the so-called 
winter resorts there is too little cold to make winter pro¬ 
vision for, and too much to be comfortable without it; so 
that a great deal of the expected pleasure and benefit of 
the milder climate fails to materialize. In the Park there 
is everything that a lover of genuine winter desires—op¬ 
portunity for coasting, snowshoeing, and sleighing; crisp 
clear air; beautiful snowstorms; fine winter scenery; and 
as pure and perfect an atmosphere as exists on the globe. 
In short, the Park climate, both in summer and winter, is 
thoroughly tonic in its effect upon the system. These 
benefits are probably more noticeable after three or four 
months’ sojourn than for much shorter or longer periods. 
As a place for continued residence the altitude is rather 
high for most constitutions, but as a place to go for a 
few months’ rest and recuperation it has no superior. 

An attraction, besides the climate, which should bring 
many winter visitors as far into the Park as to Mammoth 
Hot Springs is the great abundance of wild game which 
the snows of the upper Park drive down to the lower 
altitudes. A day’s trip will be rewarded by the sight of 
multitudes of deer, elk, and antelope, and generally of 
mountain sheep also. 

A matter which has naturally attracted considerable in¬ 
quiry is the therapeutic value of the mineral springs of 
the Park. The superstitious faith in the efficacy of mineral 
waters to restore health, which has characterized mankind 
in all ages, caused the physically afflicted to hail the dis¬ 
covery of this region as the promised fountain of new life. 
The first explorers to ascend the Gardiner in 1871 found 
“numbers of invalids” encamped on its banks, where the 


THE CLIMATE OF THE PARK 


201 


waters from Mammoth Hot Springs enter that stream; 
and it is recorded that “ they were most emphatic in their 
favorable expressions in regard to their sanitary effects.” 

But this impression was evanescent. No one now goes 
to the Park because of its mineral waters. Nevertheless, 
it would be premature to assume that there is no medicinal 
virtue in them. There is in the Park almost every variety 
of mineral spring; there are abundant and luxurious 
waters for bathing; and it is not improbable that the op¬ 
portunities afforded in this region may yet be utilized to 
the great advantage of the public. 


CHAPTER VII 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 

T HE big game animals that were found throughout the 
United States when settlement took possession of the 
country, have disappeared except from a few favored local¬ 
ities. Driven back into the swamps and mountains they 
still survive there in some degree of safety. The noblest 
of them all, the buffalo, has long since been practically 
exterminated and most of the other large species have 
drifted rapidly in the same direction. The better senti¬ 
ment of the country deplores this unhappy tendency, and 
in recent years there has grown up a determined purpose 
to arrest it as far as possible. 

Two things are necessary to this end—efficient game 
laws and ample game preserves. The first rests largely 
with the individual States and the second with the general 
government. The many national forests which the govern¬ 
ment has created are practically game preserves also, by 
virtue of the exclusion of settlement; and if the States in 
which they are located will but enact and enforce efficient 
game laws, the perpetuation of the native fauna will be 
insured. 

The most important of all these game preserves, both 
on account of its extent and the laws and regulations 
governing it, is the Yellowstone Park. The Act of Dedi¬ 
cation recognized its function in this respect, and the Pro¬ 
tective Act of 1894 made it definite and specific. It is 
admirably fitted by nature for this particular purpose. 
It offers little in a commercial way to tempt the cupidity 
of man. Its mineral wealth is buried so deeply under the 
lava that no miner will ever reveal it. Its altitude and 

202 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


203 


climate unfit it for agriculture. Its forests are of little 
value for lumber. But as a home for the native species 
of the continent it possesses unrivaled advantages. 

“ The broad expanse of forest incloses sequestered nooks, 
and enticing grassy parks, with absolute seclusion in 
mountain recesses admirably adapted for the homes of 
wild animals. It is the great diversity of its physical fea¬ 
tures, offering within a restricted area all the require¬ 
ments for animal life, which fits it for the home of big 
game. Abundant food supply, shelter from wind and 
weather in winter, cool resorts on the uplands in summer, 
favorable localities for breeding purposes and the rearing 
of young, all are found here. The Park supplies what is 
really needed—a zoological reservation where big game may 
roam unmolested by the intrusion of man, rather than a 
zoological garden inclosed by fences, and the game fed or 
sustained more or less by artificial methods.” * 

The many years of lax administration in the early history 
of the Park threatened to nullify its purpose as a game 
preserve. Killing of wild animals within its borders was 
not entirely prohibited until 1883, and the restricted license 
previously in force was shamefully abused. Some of the 
larger species were greatly reduced in numbers, while in 
a few instances they were nearly exterminated. In later 
years, particularly since the legislation of 1894, the elk, 
deer, bear, and beaver have rapidly recuperated in numbers, 
and there is now not the smallest reason to apprehend their 
extinction. The outlook for the antelope and mountain 
sheep is good, though not so certain. The buffalo and 
moose were nearly gone, with little prospect of restoration, 
but through the direct agency of man their numbers are 
now being restored. The smaller species—gophers, squir¬ 
rels, woodchucks, etc.—flourish in great numbers. The 
birds have never suffered from poaching and the fishes 


* “ The Yellowstone National Park as a Game Preserve,” by 
Dr. Arnold Hague. 



204 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


have multiplied extensively since the Park was created. 
The killing of any of the species except fish is absolutely 
forbidden to the public, and it is an interesting fact that 
this protection is fully understood by the animals them¬ 
selves. They exhibit a familiarity and fearlessness in the 
Park which is never seen where man has the privilege of 
killing them. 


MAMMALS 

To enumerate the species which do, or may, flourish in 
the Park would be to give a list of the fauna of the Rocky 
Mountains. Among the mammals, interest naturally first 
attaches to the buffalo. That noble animal is part and 
parcel of the pioneer history of our country, and its sudden 
disappearance, as if some unseen hand had swept it from 
the earth, has been a theme of universal regret. Only 
very few are left and most of these are in private herds. 
The Park has the only herd that still roams in its native 
freedom, and for a time it seemed doomed to extinction; 
but of late it has shown positive evidence of recuperation. 
The fact that Congress has taken a hand in the preserva¬ 
tion of the buffalo and makes regular appropriations to 
that end is significant proof of the high value set upon the 
perpetuity of this species. 

A policy attempted several years ago was to capture and 
corral the native herd in a situation where the winter 
snows are not so deep as in their present home in the 
Pelican Valley; to introduce new blood from the few re¬ 
maining private herds; to provide forage and shelter, if 
necessary, and, of course, perfect protection; and thus let 
the herd recuperate and become better acquainted with its 
benefactors. The young would then be gradually given 
their liberty with the expectation that they would not flee 
to the mountains, but would remain in the lower valleys 
where they could find subsistence in winter. 

So far as the capture of the native herd is concerned, 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


205 


this policy did not prove very successful; but that is not 
a matter of much importance, now that the herd seems to 
be actually on the road to substantial increase. The intro¬ 
duction of new blood from the outside has proven a distinct 
success, the original herd of 20 imported in 1902 having 
increased to about 150 in 1912. There are probably 50 in 
the wild herd, or 700 in all now in the Park. The tame 
herd was first kept in a corral at Mammoth Hot Springs, 
but is now kept in the Lamar valley, except that every 
summer a herd of about 15 bulls is driven into the old 
corral at the Springs, where these interesting animals may 
be conveniently seen by visitors. 

In the valley of the Lamar River, near the mouth of 
Rose Creek, immense corrals have been built. During 
summer and autumn, the buffalo are herded outside during 
the daytime and are driven back into the corrals at night. 
Hay is made from native grass and from irrigated mead¬ 
ows sown to timothy, and this supply is relied upon during 
the winter season when the deep snow makes grazing on 
the range precarious. If this herd continues to increase, 
a portion of its number will doubtless be turned loose in 
the hope that they will come in contact with the wild 
herd, a few of which have recently been seen as near as 
the valley of Cache Creek. On the whole, the prospect 
for both the wild and tame herds, and through them for 
the perpetuity of the species, now seems excellent.* 

That other animal which has borne such a part in the 
frontier history of our country, and has been of more im¬ 
portance in the commercial world than all the other wild 
animals combined, is happily in a most flourishing condi¬ 
tion in the Park. The American beaver abounds in nearly 
all the streams and evidences of its work are everywhere 
present. Here, better than in any other place in the world, 
the interesting life of this wonderful animal can be 

* The inauguration of this policy and its successful prosecution 
for several years fell to Major (now Lieutenant-Colonel) John 
Pitcher, U. S. A., who was Superintendent from 1901 to 1907. 



206 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


studied; for it, too, feels that it is safe, and that the pres¬ 
ence of man does not mean its destruction. 

The third in the alliterative trio of the most important 
American wild beasts, the bear, is likewise safe from even 
remote danger of extinction. These animals are now to be 
seen in every part of the Park. Around the hotels and 
working camps they have become exceedingly tame and 
are a never-failing source of delight to the tourist. They 
are at the same time an intolerable annoyance from their 
habit of breaking into tents and buildings in search of 
food. The two well-known species, the grizzly and the 
black, flourish in the Park, but the latter by far the more 
numerously. Science does not specifically recognize the 
so-called cinnamon bear, which seems to be a variation 
in color from the black bear. The term white bear, as 
used by the early hunters, and silver tip, as used to-day, 
apply to the grizzly bear. 

The most abundant species of the larger game is that 
superb and majestic animal, the American elk. Its present 
numbers and recent increase remove all danger of exter¬ 
mination. If a thousand elk were slaughtered every year 
from the overflow into the surrounding country, the natural 
increase would more than offset it. The Park is particu¬ 
larly adapted to the life of this animal. The open and 
partly wooded country in the east and north of the Park 
affords every desired condition—from the low warm valleys 
for winter to the high cool mountain sides for summer. 
The elk will always remain the most numerous among the 
larger game of the Park, as it will always be the most 
attractive from the dignity and grace of its bearing. 

Deer are abundant in two well-known species—the black- 
tail, or Dakota mule deer, and the white-tail. The first 
is the more common, and is found in nearly all parts of 
the Park. Their winter range is mainly in the north of 
the Park and they are as familiar around the buildings at 
Mammoth Hot Springs as a herd of domestic cattle. 

The antelope and mountain sheep are much less numer- 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


207 


ous than the elk and deer, but there is no reason to sup¬ 
pose that they are not holding their own. The antelope 
range is in the north of the Park extending from Gardiner 
to Soda Butte and back on the northern slopes of Mt. 
Washburn. The mountain sheep range principally upon 
Mt. Everts and Mt. Washburn. In the winter season both 
antelope and sheep are seen near the road in the vicinity 
of Gardiner. 

It was at one time feared that the moose would become 
extinct, but in recent years its numbers have greatly in¬ 
creased. Its principal habitat is in the Yellowstone valley 
above the Lake, but it is also numerous in the southwest 
corner of the Park and has even been seen north of the 
Lake. 

Among the fur-bearing animals there are, in addition 
to the beaver already mentioned, a large number of otter, 
and a few foxes of the common species. Muskrats are very 
abundant, and mink likewise abound. 

Of the strictly carnivorous species the mountain lion 
is the most important. It seems to be in no danger of 
extinction and is one of two animals that the authorities 
consider it necessary to kill for the protection of other 
game. The other is the coyote, whose power of increase 
baffles all efforts to restrict it. The coyote is the only 
abundant species of the wolf genus known to exist in the 
Park. 

There are two species of the lynx genus in the Park, 
the Canadian lynx and the bobcat, or wild cat. 

An animal which used to be very common in the Park 
but is now rarely seen, if at all, is the porcupine. What 
is the cause of its strange disappearance, and whether that 
disappearance is permanent or only temporary, no one 
knows. 

Among the smaller species the groundhog, or eastern 
woodchuck, is exceedingly numerous and frequents the 
roadsides in all parts of the Park. The red squirrel is 
everywhere seen and the diminutive chipmunk is always 


208 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


scampering out from under the horses’ feet. The pine 
marten is a rare animal, but nevertheless flourishes through¬ 
out the forests with no danger of extermination. 

BIRDS 

Although an ornithologist, in passing through the Park, 
would report a list of birds so extensive as to lead one to 
think that they abound in great numbers, there is really 
a noticeable paucity of the winged tribes. There are many 
species, but a scarcity of individuals except in a few cases. 
It is stated by an authority on this subject that the birds 
of the Park seem distant and hard to see, and are there¬ 
fore more difficult to study than those in the lower alti¬ 
tudes. The following list enumerates some of the more 
conspicuous: 

The most numerous of all the species are the water- 
fowl that frequent the lakes and rivers. The pelican on 
the Yellowstone Lake is always an attractive feature of 
that body of water. It is a splendid bird, and, when seen 
in large numbers upon the water, looks like a fleet of 
white boats. It is equally graceful in the air, where it 
soars in magnificent curves between the blue of the water 
and the sky. The great breeding ground of the pelican 
is at the northeast corner of the lake, where its name is 
used to designate three important geographical features— 
Pelican Creek, Pelican Roost, an island, and Pelican Cone, 
a hill back in the interior. 

The swan, though actually found in the Park, is rarely 
seen. 

Gulls and terns are numerous on the larger lakes. 

The grebe, the great blue heron, the sandhill crane, the 
mudhen, and the spotted sandpiper abound in limited 
numbers. 

The water-ousel is one of the really numerous species 
of birds in the Park and it would seem as if the thousand 
torrents of that region furnish it with an ideal home. It 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


209 


may be seen everywhere among the foaming cascades and 
on the slippery rocks, and it remains in the Park in winter 
as well as summer. It is particularly numerous along the 
Gardiner River. 

The Canada goose is a frequent visitor to the Park in 
the fall of the year, when it may be seen in countless num¬ 
bers among the marshes in the warm spring districts. 
Wary as it is of the wiles of man, and watchful as it nat¬ 
urally is of his whereabouts, it doffs its fear in this pro¬ 
tected region and remains in apparent indifference by the 
road sides as if conscious of its immunity from danger. 

Ducks abound in great numbers and in all the more 
important species. Where the water from the hot springs 
keeps the streams open, they remain all*winter. Around 
Mammoth Hot Springs they frequent the roads and barn¬ 
yards for food and resemble at first sight domestic flocks. 
The sportsman who is forced to devise ways and means 
for catching these wary birds in the world outside would 
scarcely believe that they could become so tame when 
within the protection of the Park. 

Among the larger birds of prey both the golden and 
bald eagles are occasionally seen, although they are not 
numerous. The fish-hawk or osprey is very common, and 
is found in all the streams. Its nests on rocky pinnacles 
are often mistaken for eagles’ nests. 

There are several species of hawk, and this bird is one 
of the most numerous in the Park. Its nests may be seen 
in considerable numbers in the tops of dead pine trees 
along the north shore of the Yellowstone Lake. The west¬ 
ern red-tail, or chicken-hawk, is also frequently seen. 

Owls are not uncommon, the most conspicuous being 
the western horned owl. 

Of the land birds that elsewhere furnish legitimate sport 
for the hunter, the ruffed grouse is the only one that is 
found in sufficient numbers to merit attention. 

Among the scavenger and carrion birds the raven, the 
crow, and the magpie are quite common. A familiar bird 


210 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


to all tourists who camp through the Park is the Rocky 
Mountain Jay, or “ camp robber,” as it is commonly called. 
This name, however, is a harsh one for so useful a bird, 
and camp scavenger would more correctly describe it. 

The better known and more common among the other 
birds that live in the Park are the following: The robin, 
the bluebird, the chickadee, two species of nuthatches, the 
brown tree creeper, the Macgillivray warbler, the yellow 
throat, the winter wren, the tit lark, the Louisiana 
tanager, the meadow lark, the blue-headed blackbird, the 
white crowned sparrow, the Cassin purple finch, the pink¬ 
sided junco, the pine siskin, the kingfisher, northern violet- 
green and cliff swallows, and the Rocky mountain hairy 
woodpecker. 

Among the winter birds are the water-ousel and the 
merganser on the streams; and the ptarmigan, Bohemian 
wax-wing, snow-flake, and red poll, land birds. 

FISHES 

It is now generally recognized that the Yellowstone Park 
affords the finest trout fishing in the world. There are 
a few other fishes, like the grayling in the Madison and its 
branches and white fish in the lower Gardiner; but the 
Park is practically an exclusive home for that most beau¬ 
tiful and interesting of all fishes, the trout. 

Not all the streams of the Park were originally stocked 
with fish. Where the waters leave the great volcanic 
plateau and fall to the underlying formations, the cataracts 
form impassable barriers to the ascent of fish. In the lower 
courses of all the streams there were native trout, but above 
the falls, with one exception, there were none. The ex¬ 
ception of the Yellowstone River and Lake is a most inter¬ 
esting one. Why the Falls of Yellowstone, the highest and 
most impassable of all, should apparently have proven no 
barrier, was at first a puzzling question. But the solution 
was found in Two-Ocean Pass. Across this remarkable 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


211 


divide fish may easily make their way, and the Yellowstone 
Lake is unquestionably stocked from this direction. It 
is possible that the origin of fish in this lake may date 
back to the time, referred to in a previous chapter, when 
the lake was tributary to the Columbia River. In either 
case, we have here an example, probably without parallel, 
of an extensive body of water on the Atlantic slope stocked 
by nature with fish from the Pacific. 

The policy of stocking the fishless streams of the Park 
originated with Captain F. A. Boutelle, U. S. A., the 
second military Superintendent. Acting upon his recom¬ 
mendation, the United States Fish Commission stocked 
most of the streams with trout in 1890, and has extended 
the work since that time until now practically all the 
streams have become a prolific habitat of the principal 
varieties of this chief of game fishes. These include the 
Brook, Lake, Rainbow, Loch Leven, and Yon Behr, and 
one or two species besides trout. All the plants seem to 
have taken decisive root and there is now scarcely a hidden 
stream or lake in all this region that is without its attrac¬ 
tions for the sportsman. Full freedom of fishing is al¬ 
lowed, except that the fish can be taken only by hook and 
line. 

From its condition as a suppliant for fish life in its 
many streams the Park has now become, under the intelli¬ 
gent work of the U. S. Fish Commission, a source of 
supply for other streams throughout the country. An 
important fish hatchery has been maintained for years on 
the shore of the Yellowstone Lake and from it prodigious 
numbers of eggs are annually distributed. Trout Lake in 
the north of the Park is also drawn upon to some extent 
and doubtless others will be in the near future. 

The trout of the Yellowstone Lake, have been reported 
to be to a slight degree infected with a parasitic disease. 
Many efforts have been made to discover the cause of this 
condition, and a suitable remedy for it. An explanation 


212 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


sometimes advanced is that the excessive number of these 
fish and the absence of sufficient food reduce their vitality 
and they become an easy prey of parasites which a more 
vigorous constitution would throw off. Later investigations 
have shown that former reports of the prevalence of this 
condition were much exaggerated. 

REPTILES 

Scarcely any reference need be made to the reptiles of 
the Park because of the extreme paucity of their number. 
There are a few lizards and toads* and an abundance of 
frogs. There are also three or four species of snakes* among 
which are the large bull snake and a diminutive water 
snake. Both are entirely harmless. The author has never 
seen a rattlesnake in the Park* but it is said that they 
have been seen in the low altitude near the mouth of the 
Gardiner River. They apparently do not exist as far up 
as Mammoth Hot Springs. The tourist may enjoy what¬ 
ever satisfaction there is in the fact that there are no 
poisonous reptiles in the Park. 


INSECTS 

It remains to assign to the smallest representatives of 
animal life in the Park (smallest in size but greatest in 
numbers) the most important place so far as the comfort 
of the tourist is concerned. The mosquito and kindred 
pests are vigorous and active at certain seasons. They 
begin to appear late in June* and the energy of the mos¬ 
quito is at its height in the early days of July. By the 
first of August it has nearly disappeared. It is aided in 
its career of torture by an exceedingly diminutive gnat* 
which flourishes for a brief period early in the season. 

The reign of the mosquito is followed by that of several 
species of horse flies* which are desperately fierce and 


FAUNA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


213 


voracious in the late summer, and are a great drawback 
to the pleasure of driving. 

Finally the common house fly abounds in even greater 
numbers than in lower altitudes and is an unmitigated 
nuisance in all camping operations. It is at its worst 
during the month of September. 

GAME 

The tourist is often disappointed that he sees but little 
game in the Park, and hastens to the conclusion that the 
fact of its existence has been much overdrawn. He should 
remember that it is of the nature of wild animals to shun 
the haunts of man. In the summer season when tourists 
visit the Park herbivorous animals are nearly all in the 
higher altitudes with their cool retreats and greater free¬ 
dom from annoying insects. They naturally do not con¬ 
gregate along the roadsides. It is nevertheless noticeable 
that their sense of safety is making them better acquainted 
with men and they are seen in ever-increasing frequency 
as time goes on. It is now very rare that the visitor is 
not favored with the sight of elk and deer somewhere on 
his tour. Bear he always sees. If he travels in the north¬ 
east section of the Park he is certain to see antelope. In 
the late autumn or early spring he may see almost any 
day, on the rugged cliffs of the lower Gardiner Canyon, a 
fine band of mountain sheep. Buffalo are now in evidence 
under compulsion in the corral near Mammoth Hot 
Springs. To him who travels the bridle paths of the Park 
away from the beaten routes the evidence of the presence 
of game quickly conquers all preconceived doubts. 

The question is often asked whether the game interests 
of the Park would not be promoted by fencing the entire 
reservation. While fencing the boundary might be of 
some advantage in a few special localities, it would not 
be so if applied to the Park as a whole. The undertaking 
itself would be a stupendous one owing to the almost 


214 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


insuperable obstacles encountered on a straight line through 
a mountainous country. The fence would not restrain 
poachers, who, with a pair of pliers, could cut it wherever 
desired; but it would restrain government officials, who 
would not feel at liberty to cut it, and whose freedom of 
movement along the boundary would be curtailed thereby. 
Falling timber would keep the fence full of breaks unless 
it was constantly patched. In the winter deep snow would 
bury it in a thousand places and game could pass over it 
with ease, while the melting of the snow in spring would 
restore the fence and prevent their return. In fact, one 
of the greatest purposes of the Park as a game preserve— 
that of providing a refuge for the game of the surround¬ 
ing country—would be destroyed by such a fence. 

The best of all game fences for the Park are the national 
forests which have been created on its borders, supported 
and strengthened by a vigorous administration of the game 
laws in the surrounding States. It is entirely consistent 
with the function of the Park in the preservation of game 
that the animals reared under its protection should over¬ 
flow into the surrounding regions where they may satisfy 
the natural desire of man for the sport of hunting. 

It is highly interesting to record that the policy thus 
suggested in the second edition of this book has become 
definitely established, and it is now recognized as a desira¬ 
ble thing that the elk herd be drawn upon annually to the 
extent of seven to eight thousand animals. The Park has 
thus become a veritable source of food supply to the sur¬ 
rounding country and this condition will continue for the 
indefinite future. Taken with its even more important 
function as a source of fish supply to the whole country, 
it invests the word “ benefit,” as used in the Act of Dedica¬ 
tion, with a significance which its authors could scarcely 
have anticipated. 


CHAPTEE VIII 


FLORA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 

C ONSIDEEING its geographical location in the heart 
of the arid regions of the west, the Park is blessed 
with an unusually bountiful flora. Its climate is much 
more humid than in any portion of the surrounding coun¬ 
try.* This greater humidity produces a result upon vege¬ 
tation which is very apparent. The forest growths are 
abundant, the flowers marvelously profuse, and the grass 
nutritious and luxuriant. The Park is a vast oasis in the 
midst of a parched and arid country that stretches away 
from it in every direction for hundreds of miles. 

The principal features of the Park flora which attract 
attention from the tourist are its forests and flowers, and 
these will be separately considered in the next two chap¬ 
ters. Excelling them in practical utility, though seldom 
noticed except in the more beautiful glades and parks, are 
the various grasses which flourish everywhere outside of 
the dense forests. The importance of these grasses cannot 
be overestimated. The very existence of the game depends 
upon them, and the convenience of visitors in subsisting 
their animals is greatly promoted thereby. 

The Park grasses have never been separately catalogued, 
but they are practically the same as in the surrounding 
country with the natural modifications due to difference 
of environment.! As a general thing the grasses of the 


* See Chapter VI, Part II. 

fMr. Alfred Rydberg, in his catalogue of the Flora of Mon¬ 
tana and the Yellowstone Park, enumerates 191 grasses. About 
80 species have been reported from the Park, but the buffalo 
grass and gramma grass are not among them. 

oj.5 



216 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


western country are of excellent quality. They retain their 
nutritive power in winter as well as summer, so that 
wherever the snow does not fall too deeply, grazing herds 
can find sustenance at all seasons of the year. 

The three grasses that are the chief reliance for grazing 
are the gramma grass, the buffalo grass, and the bunch 
grass. Gramma grass has a wide distribution throughout 
the West and is sometimes mistaken for buffalo grass. It 
attains a growth as high as ten inches. It is one of the 
native grasses that thrives under irrigation. Buffalo grass 
is also widely distributed, but is dying out before the ad¬ 
vance of civilization. The bunch grass is most important 
of all, and is the main reliance of grazing herds both in 
winter and summer. 

Besides these more important grazing grasses, there are 
many other varieties. Wild timothy and clover abound 
and the swamps are filled with rank growths which, in 
several places, have been mown and cured for hay. The 
quality, however, is inferior. The raising of alfalfa near 
Gardiner and the cutting of grass on the native meadows in 
the Lamar River valley are now a regular resource for the 
winter supply for herbivorous game. 

The area of good pasturage in the Park is extensive, 
although it does not cover more than twenty per cent of 
the entire reservation. In the more open forests in the 
northeastern part of the Park the grasses invade the woods 
and form the most attractive places of all for grazing. 

That singular and useless plant which grows almost 
universally throughout the arid West, the sage brush (genus 
Artemisia), is represented in the Park by several species. 
The most common there, as elsewhere, is the tridentata, or 
three-pronged leaf. It grows extensively around Mammoth 
Hot Springs, where it attains a height of nearly ten feet. 
The growths in the higher altitudes are much smaller. 

In the valley of the Lower Gardiner that other plant 
peculiar to the arid regions, the greasewood (Sarcoiatus 
vermiculatus ), flourishes. In external form it resembles 


FLORA OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


217 


the tridentata sage, but its color and composition are quite 
different. The presence of sage brush indicates a good 
agricultural soil; that of greasewood a poor soil; though 
sometimes the two plants are found growing together. 

The cactus is represented by two species, the well-known 
prickly pear, and the small spherical growth, which abounds 
in the lower prairies. Both of these plants produce attrac¬ 
tive blossoms, and both are exceedingly troublesome to man 
and beast in traveling over the country where they exist. 
They flourish only in the lower altitudes of the Park. 

Several well-known species of wild fruits are met with. 
Red raspberries grow in the northern sections of the Park. 
In the region of the travertine rocks between Terrace 
Mountain and Bunsen Peak they abound in sufficient quan¬ 
tities to justify picking. Another place where they grow 
profusely is the Canyon of Lamar River, about six miles 
above the mouth of that stream. 

Neither the black raspberry nor the common blackberry 
grows in the Park, but there are wild gooseberries and cur¬ 
rants in abundance. The fragrant service berry is met 
with, but not the buffalo berry, which grows so abundantly 
in the valleys below the Park. 

There is found all over the Park, in the dense forests of 
lodge pole pine, a small plant which yields a diminutive 
fruit of the cranberry genus. In taste and smell it resem¬ 
bles exactly the common huckleberry. It grows in great 
profusion, and fills the air with its fragrance; but its 
exceedingly small size prevents its being gathered for use. 

Among the minor plants which abound are some of the 
wild edible roots, such as the camas root, the Indian turnip, 
the bitter root, and the wild onion. Mushrooms grow ex¬ 
tensively, and a certain variety attains enormous size. One 
specimen measured forty inches in circumference and 
weighed about ten pounds. 

Lichens, mosses, and a few prostrate growths abound to 
a limited extent. Mint is found in some localities. There 
are but few vines and almost no thorny growths. Kinni- 


218 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


kinick, or the bear berry, from the bark of which the Indian 
made a native tobacco, grows extensively throughout the 
forests. 

The cultivation of ordinary domestic plants and vege¬ 
tables in the Park is very precarious owing to the altitude 
and frequent frost. In the lower valley of the Gardiner 
the raising of vegetables has been successfully accomplished, 
but never on the Park Plateau, where the altitude is nearly 
half a mile greater. A novel system of hothouse cultiva¬ 
tion has been successfully tried in the geyser basins, where 
the steam from the hot springs has been utilized to force the 
growth of lettuce and similar vegetables. 


CHAPTER IX 


FORESTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 

T HE most prominent feature of the Park flora is its 
forest growth, which covers five-sixths of its area. 
The trees are nearly all conifera, but the species are few in 
number. Probably three-fourths of the forests consist of 
the lodge pole pine (Pinus Murrayana), sometimes called 
black pine from its dark appearance in large masses. It 
grows in tall, straight, slender trunks, with no foliage, 
except near the top. The trees stand so close together that 
the lower limbs of earlier growths die out and the individual 
tree is simply a huge telegraph pole sixty to seventy feet 
long, with a Christmas tree on the top. In some places 
the growths are so dense and the trunks so weak and slender 
that when the top support is removed, as by clearing the 
right of way for a road, the trees lop over in great arches 
until the tops touch the ground. The tree is of little use 
for lumber, but it has been utilized extensively for fuel, 
telegraph poles, fences, and similar purposes. 

The limber pine (Pinus flexilis) is found in the lower 
altitudes in the north of the Park. It is seen at its best 
on the formation around Fort Yellowstone. It does not 
grow much above an elevation of 6,000 feet. It is not a 
very shapely tree, and is interesting rather from its sturdy 
form than from any real beauty or symmetry. It is of 
little use for lumber. 

A related species (Pinus albicaulis) grows in the higher 
altitudes. In external appearance, habit, and utility it 
resembles the flexilis pine. 

The trees just mentioned constitute the only species of 
pines that grow in the Park. Three other important trees 
have also a wide area of growth. The Douglas Spruce 
219 


220 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


(Pseudotsuga macronata) is a tree that resembles in ex¬ 
ternal form of growth the Pinus flexilis. It is found most 
abundantly in the northern portions of the Park, but to a 
considerable extent also in various other sections. In size 
of trunk it is by far the largest tree in the Park, occasional 
specimens exceeding six feet in diameter. It is the great 
lumber tree of the Park, and is always chosen in preference 
to other trees for bridge timber. 

The two trees upon which the beauty of the Park forests 
mainly depends are the Engelmann Spruce and the Silver 
Fir, of the genera Picea and Abies, respectively. Both 
trees flourish in the higher altitudes, the spruce being par¬ 
tial to damp ground. Neither tree yields a good lumber, 
and neither is sought for this purpose when the Douglas 
Spruce is available. 

The Engelmann spruce is a tall, well-built tree, with 
symmetrical branches—commencing but little above the 
ground, and generally drooping a little as if pressed down 
by the weight of many winters’ snow. The bark is of a 
light reddish hue, which contrasts beautifully with the dark 
foliage. 

The silver fir, sometimes called balsam, is also a tall 
symmetrical tree, whose soft, glaucous, light green foliage 
makes it the most beautiful tree in the woods. It is not 
generally found in dense growths, like the Engelmann 
spruce, but is encountered more frequently on the skirts 
of forests verging toward the timber line. 

In a few instances these trees have assumed a remarkable 
growth, the limbs commencing with hedge-like density from 
the ground, and extending in a solid mass to the top as 
if trimmed with artistic skill by an experienced gardener. 
There are several examples of these growths which should 
rank among the marvels of the Park. It is said that they 
have been utilized for shelter in the winter by chance 
wayfarers; for when covered with a roof of snow their 
interior is as dry and warm as the room of a house. 

It is upon the two species just described that the beauty 


FORESTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


221 


of the Park forests chiefly rests. The roads that are built 
through them are invariably cool and pleasant, and in 
some places form majestic avenues, with stately columns 
rising in perfect symmetry on either side. The visitor 
quickly learns the contrast between these rich evergreen 
forests and the somber solitudes of the lodge pole pine. 

The Park has two species of cedar, the Juniperus 
scopulorum, and a prostrate form, Juniperus sibirica. The 
first is confined to the Lower Gardiner and the Yellowstone 
valleys, and principally to the vicinity of Mammoth Hot 
Springs. This tree rarely attains sufficient size or regular¬ 
ity of form to make it useful for lumber or even fence 
posts. It is a small growth, misshapen in the extreme, 
and is attractive mainly on account of the remarkable 
contortions and unusual shapes it assumes. It is as if its 
entire life had been beset with wind and storm until it 
had lost every vestige of form and comeliness. There are, 
however, a few examples which exhibit remarkable sym¬ 
metry of growth. 

The prostrate cedar is found generally throughout the 
Park, at high as well as low altitudes. It creeps over the 
ground like a vine, and is a very ornamental shrub. 

The genus Populus is represented in the Park by three 
species. The angustifolia , or narrow-leafed cottonwood, 
grows along the streams in the lower altitudes, but is not 
very abundant within the limits of the Park. There is 
also a cottonwood of broader leaf, but of rather infrequent 
occurrence. The tremuloides, or quaking aspen, is the 
great representative of the genus in the Park, and the only 
deciduous tree to be found there abundantly. It grows in 
small detached copses in every part of the Reservation, 
and is an element of the highest importance in the beauty 
of the landscape. Whether in the soft, pale green of early 
spring or the pure crimson and yellow of early fall, these 
groves always appeal to the lover of nature as one of her 
choicest beauties. In certain localities the tree grows to 
a height of thirty or forty feet, with spreading tops and 


222 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


snow-white trunks—a singular and striking phenomenon, 
like a group of ponderous umbrellas with white handles 
and green tops. 

The elk and deer browse the quaking aspen, and the 
beaver cuts it down for his use; so that between the two 
it has a hard struggle for existence in some localities. 
Whether from browsing or some other cause, many of the 
groves in the northern part of the Park seem to be trimmed 
up exactly the same distance from the ground, as if all the 
limbs had been carefully cut off at a fixed height. 

The species above described include all the larger trees 
of the Park. There are besides several smaller growths 
and numerous low shrubs that are scarcely to be considered 
as forming a part of the forest. Willow thickets abound 
on nearly all the streams, and in some places, as in Willow 
Park, are very beautiful either in early spring or late 
autumn. The willows are naturally a great resource for 
the beaver in his peculiar manner of life. Alder growths 
abound on nearly all the streams. The dwarf maple is 
quite common around Mammoth Hot Springs, and is a 
very pretty tree. 

Considered in their broader bearing upon the welfare of 
the Park, its forests are an element of great importance. 
Their value differs with the different species and in some 
instances is much overestimated. In the vast compact 
areas of lodge pole pine there is nothing of beauty and 
little of utility. The dense shade prevents the growth of 
grass and underbrush, and the game find nothing to live 
on among them. The spruce and fir are very different trees. 
They grow more in detached masses, interspersed with 
pasturage which often invades their precincts with a fine 
grassy turf, forming ideal grazing grounds for the herbiv¬ 
orous game. As seen in their native beauty on the slopes of 
Mt, Washburn they are one of the chief attractions of the 
Park. 

As a source of timber supply the forests of the Park 
and surrounding mountains are not of high rank. Only 


FORESTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 


223 


one of their trees yields a good lumber, and that, unfortu¬ 
nately, is among the least abundant. Railroads are now 
resorting to the lodge pole pine for ties and telegraph 
poles, but this is due to necessity from the growing scarcity 
of better timber rather than to any merit in the wood 
itself. 

The influence of the Park forests upon the flow of its 
streams is very different from what is generally supposed. 
So far as the spring floods are concerned, the effect of the 
forests, contrary to the received opinion, is to intensify, not 
to moderate. This is a truth that has been fully demon¬ 
strated from many years’ observations in connection with 
the opening of the roads in the spring. The same observa¬ 
tions also indicate that, so far as snowfall is concerned, 
an open country is more conducive to uniformity of flow 
and a prolonged supply extending well into the summer 
than is a forest-covered area. The broader question of how 
far forests have an influence upon precipitation is one 
about which there is much uncertainty. The common 
opinion is that they increase it; but this is probably a 
confusion of cause and effect. The forests are not a cause 
but a result of the higher precipitation of this region, 
which itself is primarily due to the high altitude. 

The preservation of the Park forests has always been a 
matter of anxious solicitude on the part of the authorities. 
Extreme precautions are taken to prevent fires, and severe 
penalties are visited upon anyone who is careless in this 
respect. In recent years the Departments of War, the 
Interior, and Agriculture have entered into cooperative ar¬ 
rangements for fighting fires in the national parks and 
forests. 

Forest fires in the Park arise from two principal causes 
—lightning and the agency of man. It is said that they 
have been started from the friction of trees rubbing to¬ 
gether in the wind; but that is very improbable. 

Lightning is undoubtedly a frequent cause of fires, and 
one which cannot be eliminated. The thunder showers of 


224 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the Park are characterized by intense electrical activity and 
lightning strokes are frequent and severe. These strokes 
often take place when there is very little rain—not enough 
to extinguish any fire that might be started. The danger 
is therefore a formidable one, and unhappily one that will 
always continue. 

In like manner the agency of man in causing forest fires 
dates from the indefinite past, and will never be wholly 
eliminated. It is thought by many that this danger is 
greater now than it used to be, but this is probably not 
true of the Park, from which railroads and settlements are 
excluded. The Indians and trappers of early days who 
wandered through this region were not confronted with 
“ extinguish your fires ” at every turn, and were not afraid 
of the guard house if they left smoldering coals behind 
them. Probably their camp fires caused quite as many 
conflagrations as those of tourists do now. 

The control of a forest fire that has once gotten under 
way is next to impossible except by the aid of rain. The 
fire does not travel on the ground, as on the prairie or in 
a forest of deciduous trees. In the Park there is not gen¬ 
erally enough material of the right character on the ground 
to enable a fire to gain dangerous headway. The real 
progress is through the tree tops. The fire leaps up among 
the resinous cones and leaves, which are torn off in flames, 
borne on the wind for hundreds of feet, where they start 
new fires, and the process is repeated indefinitely. 

It is impossible to battle successfully with an enemy 
like this, who travels through the air and laughs at the 
efforts made to circumvent him. Only at night or in the 
early morning is there the least possibility of making 
effective headway against him. The chill air dampens the 
fury of the fire, and it ceases to run from about evening 
twilight until nine or ten o’clock in the morning. The 
fiercest progress is from two to four o’clock in the after¬ 
noon, when the heat and wind are at their maximum. The 
volume of smoke given off by these forest fires is very dense 


FORESTS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 225 

and heavy, and gives an exaggerated impression of their 
magnitude. 

The proportion of the Park territory which has been 
burned over in the past three hundred years is almost as 
great as the Park itself. Evidences of former fires abound 
everywhere, from the dead timber of last year’s conflagra¬ 
tion to full grown forests which still show on close 
inspection charred remains that have resisted the decay of 
time. The charring of wood gives it a wonderful preserva¬ 
tive power, amounting in some instances to practical 
indestructibility. It is, therefore, a simple matter to trace 
these fires, and with some definite starting point or datum 
it is comparatively easy to estimate their relative ages. 
Fortunately we have such a datum which not only serves 
our present purposes, but gives a clew to the origin of one 
of the most important geographical names of the Park. In 
the journal of a clerk of the American Fur Company,* 
who spent the years 1830-5 in the country around the 
Park, the fact is recorded that the name “ Burnt Hole,” or 
its equivalent, Firehole, arose from a great forest fire that 
swept over this region a “ few years before.” The name 
itself was applied then, as now, to the Firehole geyser 
basins. This fire must have been as late as 1826, for it 
was not until then that American trappers began to fre¬ 
quent this region, and were there to note the facts. Its 
remains are still everywhere visible, and the process of 
decay, as compared with other traceable fire effects, is cer¬ 
tainly not more than half completed. The trunks of trees 
that were killed three-quarters of a century ago still retain 
their form, though shattered by decay; while in many other 
places they have returned completely to the mother earth, 
and full-grown trees rise above them, with only a charred 
remnant here and there to record the story of the past. 

The burned areas generally grow up again, though rarely 
to their full extent, and the ultimate result of every fire is 


See page 36. 



226 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


probably to diminish the forest area. The young pine 
thickets are exceedingly dense and a large proportion of 
the trees die out in the process of growth. The down 
timber resulting from forest fires is a great obstacle to 
travel and renders the country in many places impassable 
on horseback. 

To what extent these forest fires are an injury to the 
Park it is impossible to say. If they could come in the 
right spots through the southern and central portions of 
the Park and leave us more pasturage where the lodge pole 
pine now holds sway, the Park would be the gainer. If it 
were possible to break up these dense masses into smaller 
groups like those around Mt. Washburn, every benefit that 
flows from the forests would still obtain, the landscape 
would be beautified, the game pasturage would be 
increased, while the open spaces would facilitate the arrest 
of such fires as might break out. 

But there is no obvious way of accomplishing this result 
within reasonable cost. Certainly the forest fire is not 
one. It is as liable to break out in the wrong place as in 
the right one. It creates a devastated area which for years 
is a blot upon the landscape. This is followed by a genera¬ 
tion of down timber aggravated by impenetrable growths 
of jack pine, and the final outcome, after a century or two 
of time, is a forest like that which was destroyed. If it 
were ever considered desirable to thin out the forests in 
any portion of the Park it would have to be done by arti¬ 
ficial means. The government may yet find it to its advan¬ 
tage to permit certain sections to be deforested and turned 
into pasturage. 


CHAPTER X 


THE FLOWERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 

O CCASIONALLY a visitor comes to the Yellowstone 
with a very literal idea of what is meant by the word 
park. He is looking for beautifully aligned walks and 
roadways, carpet-like lawns, formal beds of flowers, and 
other features of the conventional city park. With some¬ 
thing of a shock he encounters the actual reality as it exists 
where the majority of tourists enter the Park, and it does 
indeed seem, at first sight, as if the name were a little out 
of place when applied to such a region.* 

But if this country as a whole seems more like a wonder¬ 
land than a park, there are hundreds of genuine parks 
scattered all through it. The traveler who leaves the main 
road to follow one of the many trails that lead through the 
woods to some distant mountain peak is sure, in time, to 
come upon spots more picturesque and beautiful than 
anything art can produce. Take, for example, a sparsely 
wooded glade on the slope of Mt. Washburn, carpeted with 
the numerous native grasses and threaded by a silver 
rivulet from the melting snows above. Fir and spruce, in 
dark evergreen masses, contrast with the soft green of 
the quaking aspen or the mellow brown of certain char¬ 
acteristic shrubs. Here and there, perchance, lie prostrate 
forms of forest trees, returning, by the slow process of 
decay, to the soil from which they sprang. Everywhere, 
in contrast, the animating presence of life, “ laughing with 


* The landscape work done at the Gardiner entrance since the 
establishment of the Northern Pacific terminus at that point has 
softened to some extent the former forbidding aspect of this par¬ 
ticular part of the Park. 


227 



228 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


joy for its wild freedom / 5 reflects the abounding health 
and vigor of Nature. Far upward, through the openings 
of the trees, the mountain stands forth in silent majesty, 
while over it the white clouds are winging their way across 
the canopy of the deep blue sky. 

But there remains to be mentioned the most attractive 
feature of the picture and the one that gives the finishing 
touch to its beauty—the native wild flowers. The Yellow¬ 
stone Park is, in fact, one vast garden of flowers. They 
grow almost everywhere, and one rarely finds a spot so 
sterile that Nature has failed to beautify it with some 
simple blossom. They lift their heads almost from under 
the melting drifts, and they persist in the autumn until the 
snow crushes them to the ground. They seem all to come 
at once, for their time is short, and has to be improved 
while it lasts. Their beauty, moreover, increases with the 
hardness of their environment, and the most exquisite tints 
are found in those lofty and exposed situations where the 
conditions of growth seem most unfavorable. One of the 
pleasantest surprises to visitors who ascend any of the high 
mountains is in finding the permanent snow banks bordered 
with banks of flowers, so dense and rich as to paint the 
ground with their color. 

With few exceptions, the flowers of the Park are not 
particularly fragrant, and, like all wild flowers, they wilt 
quickly in the hand, but revive in water, and can thus be 
preserved for a considerable time. With the tremendous 
increase in Park patronage the protection of the flowers 
by Government regulation has been made necessary in 
order to prevent their extinction along the tourist routes. 

To the true lover of Nature the flowers of the Park will 
always be one of its greatest attractions. The unique 
phenomena of this region produce a vivid interest by their 
very strangeness, but it is not an interest that lasts. One 
quickly wearies of anything that exists in apparent viola¬ 
tion of the orderly course of Nature, and one finds a more 
enduring satisfaction in common things, like the wild 


THE FLOWERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 229 

flowers of forest or mountain. Theirs is a charm that 
never grows old; their sweet influence never ceases; and 
they return in fresh radiance with every spring to remind 
us anew of life’s beauty. 

It would be quite impossible, within the limits of this 
chapter, to give a full description of the flowers of the 
Park, for they run well up into the hundreds. We shall 
note about sixty of the more important species—those 
which the visitor is sure to see on his tour, particularly if 
made in the latter part of June or the first half of July. 
There are a few species that disappear early in the season, 
and a considerable number that are gone before the first 
of August; but, owing to the range of altitude, a large 
proportion of the flowers can be found in one locality or 
another nearly the entire season. In the following list the 
popular and generic names are given in most cases, but 
the specific names are, with few exceptions, omitted. 

Among the early arrivals the most beautiful is the Bitter¬ 
root (Lewisia rediviva). Because of the infrequency of 
warm, early springs in the Park, this flower is not always 
abundant there; but under favorable conditions it fairly 
covers the hillsides near Mammoth Hot Springs, and in the 
lower altitudes, with its delicate pink blossoms. It is an 
exquisite star-shaped flower, growing close to the ground, 
and is unusual in having no green in stem or calyx, which 
are of the pink of the flower, tipped with brown. The root 
of this plant was extensively used by the Indians for food. 
The Bitter-root has been chosen as the State flower of 
Montana. 

The Lungwort ( Mertensia ) is another early arrival, and 
its large blue clusters grow in profusion on the hills be¬ 
tween Mammoth Hot Springs and the Golden Gate. 

A flower that is seen almost everywhere in the early 
spring, soon after the snow disappears, is the Phlox, of 
which there are at least six recognized species in the Park. 
It grows close to the ground in compact masses, which 
form mats of delicately tinted blossoms. It is one of the 


230 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


few wild flowers that possess a genuine fragrance, and its 
odor fills the air wherever it grows. Its color shades from 
white to every delicate tint of lavender and pink, produc¬ 
ing exquisite effects. A peculiarity of this flower is that 
it gains a quick foothold on the newly made grades along 
the tourist route. 

Violets are found in six or seven distinct species; but 
their season is short and very early, and as they choose 
secluded spots for their blooming, they are not often seen 
by tourists. 

Probably the most abundant flower in the Park is the 
Lupine ( Lupinus, in six species). It is found in almost 
every locality, and grows in masses on the grassy hillsides 
in every shade of color—from a lavender so pale as to be 
almost white, to the deepest blue or purple. Its graceful 
form and variety of tint are its chief attractions. 

The bright blue of the Larkspur ( Delphinium , in five 
species) is likewise found everywhere throughout the 
Park. It is dreaded by stockmen as a plant poisonous to 
sheep and cattle. 

That somber and appropriately-named plant, the Monk’s- 
hood, or Wolfsbane (Aconitum), is also poisonous. It 
flourishes best in the higher altitudes, and in damp ground. 
The body of the blossom is white, but it is so deeply varied 
with purple as to give the color-character to the flower. 

A flower which grows in fascinating variety throughout 
the Park, and is a particular favorite with many, is the 
Indian Paint Brush (Castilleja ), also called the Painted 
Cup or Indian Pink. It is found almost everywhere. In 
the lower altitudes it takes on all the shades of Indian red 
—the color it is best known by in other regions. But it 
is in the higher altitudes, well up toward the mountain 
peaks, that it is to be seen in its greatest beauty. Here it 
assumes a very different dress, and attains a perfection 
of size, form, and color which the other varieties hardly 
suggest. It is generally of a deep rose or crimson, like an 
American Beauty, but ranges through every shade of these 


THE FLOWERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 231 


particular colors. It is an interesting fact that the real 
blossom of this brilliant plant is so small as to be scarcely 
perceptible. What gives it its wealth of color is the leaf 
which grows in thick clusters at the top of the stem, to 
protect the tiny blossoms it conceals. 

The Forget-me-not is another characteristic flower of 
the Park. The true forget-me-not (Myosotis alpestris) is 
found only at high altitudes, almost at the mountain 
summits, in fact. Here it is of a deep blue and grows in 
thick clusters close to the ground. Lower down occurs 
what seems to be another variety of the same flower, more 
beautiful, without doubt, than the first. It grows much 
taller, in branching, feathery clusters, and is of a paler 
blue, though of the same rare tint—the tint that one 
always associates with this particular flower. It seems, in 
fact, to respond to one’s idea of what a forget-me-not 
should be, but botanists tell us that it belongs to a differ¬ 
ent genus ( Lappula ). It sometimes grows in such 
abundance as to impart its color to the hillside. 

Another flower of this same rare blue is the wild flax 
(Linum Lewisii ). It is exquisite but perishable, the petals 
falling easily at the approach of midday. It is found 
everywhere throughout the Park. 

What is considered by many the most beautiful flower 
in the Park is the Columbine (Aquilegia ). Certainly, in 
grace of form and delicacy of coloring it is unsurpassed. 
The varied tints of these dainty flowers elude description. 
The palest are cream-white, and the others seem made up 
of every faint shade of yellow, pink, blue, and purple. The 
plant grows about a foot high, with pendent blossom, 
swinging like a bell from its slender stem. It flourishes 
best in the open forests at high altitudes, and its favorite 
habitat is Mt. Washburn. 

An experienced collector of Park flowers has called the 
fringed gentian (Gentiana elegans), “the characteristic 
flower of the Park as well as the most beautiful.” While 
this is perhaps too sweeping a claim, the flower is certainly 


232 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


very abundant and of great beauty. It grows in the moist 
places of the geyser basins and in the mountain meadows 
everywhere. Its deep rich blue color is found in no other 
flower, and there are few flowers which, on close inspection, 
display so fine a texture. It differs in size from the 
gentian of the East, being slightly smaller. It flourishes 
in great beauty around the Upper Geyser Basin, where 
there have been found specimens of a pure white. 

The Immortelle, or Everlasting of the East (Anaphalis ), 
is quite common. It is a sub-alpine plant, and its blossom 
is of a delicate, velvety white. Properly cared for, it retains 
its beauty for an indefinite period. 

The Sulphur Flower or Umbrella Plant ( Eriogonum, five 
or six species) grows in great profusion through the moun¬ 
tain portions of the Park—sometimes fairly covering the 
hillsides with its varied shades of cream white, sulphur, 
yellow, and red. 

The wild Geranium, cranesbill magenta ( Geranium ), 
grows profusely along the roadside. It is conspicuous be¬ 
cause of the strong magenta color of its blossoms; but it 
can hardly be called a beautiful flower. The leaves of the 
plant turn red in autumn. 

The Harebell ( Campanula rotundifolia) is an abundant 
flower. It grows in clusters along the roadside everywhere 
and is dainty and beautiful here as in other regions. 

One of the most brilliant and effective of all the flowers, 
though more rarely seen than many others, is the Blue 
Pentstemon, Beard Tongue ( Pentstemon, there are no fewer 
than thirteen species of this genus in the Park). Its long 
stem, growing from six inches to two feet or more in 
height, holds clusters of trumpet-shaped bells of an inde¬ 
scribably rich blue, often tinged at the base with wine 
color. It is seen rather sparsely scattered in dry places near 
the roads. 

A plant most characteristic of the Park, and a conspicu¬ 
ous ornament in the landscape at all seasons, is the Fire 
Weed or Willow Herb ( Epilobium ). When in bloom, its 


THE FLOWERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 233 


long clusters of a peculiar magenta pink, on stems from 
a foot to five feet in height, decorate the roadway and hill¬ 
side in all localities, and when the blossoms have passed, 
the leaves take on a brilliant red, and are an important 
element in the autumnal coloring. This plant takes its 
name from its tendency to grow in localities that have been 
devastated by fire. 

Clinging to the rocks around Golden Gate, often where 
there is no visible soil, may be seen the Evening Primrose, 
or Rock Rose ( Oenothera , four species). Its large beau¬ 
tiful blossoms open at sunset and close about noon. They 
are white at first, but gradually turn a deep rose pink. 
The roots of the plant are long, as if going deep in their 
search for water. These flowers are very interesting in 
their habit of growth—bright, little bouquets hanging up 
in the rocks. Fortunately, their period of flowering is a 
long one. 

One of the daintiest of all the flowers, and one some¬ 
what resembling the Columbine in grace of form, is the 
yellow Adder’s Tongue (Erythronium ). This has been 
called the Dogtooth Violet, surely a gross misnomer. In 
California it is most appropriately called the Easter Lily, 
but Easter has long passed before it makes its appearance 
in the Park. There is no gayer sight than a mass of these 
yellow lilies, as one comes upon them in the woods under 
some spreading tree—as “ jocund company ” as are the daf¬ 
fodils which inspired Wordsworth’s immortal lines. 

The Mountain Primrose ( Primula) is a brilliant, crim¬ 
son, bell-shaped flower on long branching stems, growing 
close to the water’s edge along the mountain streams. It 
is not abundant and is rarely seen by tourists, except in 
Spring Creek Canyon, on the road from the Upper Geyser 
Basin to the Yellowstone Lake. 

The Pyrolla (five species) is a little flower, so rare that 
it perhaps hardly deserves a place in this short list, but its 
beauty is of such rare quality as to justify including it. 
It resembles in size and general appearance the Lily of 


234 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


the Valley, and is found in the woods about Yellowstone 
Lake. 

The Monkey-face ( Mimulus) is a bright little yellow 
flower growing in wet places at the edge of streams. 

That wonderful, night-blooming flower ( Mentzelia ) is 
considered by some the most beautiful in the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains. It is not well known because it chooses as its habitat 
only the most desolate and arid spots, and because its 
blossoms can be seen only at night. The plant somewhat 
resembles a thistle and would not win a second glance from 
the passer-by in the daytime when its marvelous satin¬ 
like blossom is tight-folded in its bed of grayish green. 
When open at night it exhales a rich, heavy perfume 
which, like the gleaming white of its blossom, attracts 
night-flying insects. 

This flower is found quite abundantly below Mammoth 
Hot Springs, and is locally known as the Night Blooming 
Cereus; but this name properly applies only to a tropical 
cactus, Cereus grandijlorus. 

The Yellow Water Lily ( Nympliaea polysepala) is found 
in great abundance in some of the lakes and ponds. It is 
particularly noticeable in the little pond at the first cross¬ 
ing of the Continental Divide above the Upper Geyser 
Basin. 

The Aster, in not fewer than twelve distinct species, is 
found everywhere throughout the Park and during the 
entire season. It is one of the first flowers of spring and 
the last to disappear in the fall. 

The Sunflower ( Helianthus) is represented by several 
species and grows in great profusion, as does also the allied 
genus Heliantliella. 

Besides the flowers briefly described above, the follow¬ 
ing may be mentioned as among those which are quite sure 
to fall under the eye of the tourist: 

The Anemone or Wind Flower (Anemone in two spe¬ 
cies) ; the Pasque flower ( Pulsatilla hirsutissima) ; the 
Arnica plant ( Arnica, seven species), a bright yellow 


THE FLOWERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE 235 

flower growing in the shade of evergreen trees; the But¬ 
tercup ( Ranunculus ) in at least thirteen different species; 
two flowers, the Marsh Mallow ( Caltha leptosepala), and 
the Globe Flower (Trollius albiflorus), of the same family 
and growing in the same environment; the Shooting-star 
or American Cowslip ( Dodecatheon, in four species), a 
beautiful flower of wide distribution; the Prickly Pear 
(Opuntia polyacantha), which has a delicate and beautiful 
blossom; the Double Bladder-pod ( Physaria ), one of many 
representatives of the Mustard family; Jacob’s Ladder, or 
Greek Valerian ( Polymonium, in four species); the 
Golden Rod ( Solidago , in five species); that beautiful resi¬ 
dent of high altitudes, Townsendii, in five species; the 
Clematis Douglasii , more beautiful in seed than in flower; 
the Douglasii Montana, an exquisite little pink flower, of 
the Primrose family which grows in great profusion in 
certain localities; the Spring Beauty (Claytonia) , and the 
Thistle (Carduus, in two species). 

Among the flowering shrubs and vines, the more prom¬ 
inent are: 

The Wild Rose, which is present in great abundance in 
the lower altitudes and is conspicuous both for its beautiful 
blossoms in spring and its scarcely less beautiful foliage in 
fall; the Spirea; the Shad Bush, or Service Berry, which 
is covered with white flowers in spring; the Mountain Ash, 
the Labrador and New Jersey tea plants, the several varie¬ 
ties of berry bushes, and the Strawberry plant which grows 
all over the Park. 

There are several representatives of the fern family in 
the Park, the most important being the Cystopteris fra- 
gilis, which has a general distribution throughout the 
reservation. 

The beautiful but destructive parasite, the Mistletoe, is 
found on the lodge pole pine. 

The Orchid family has numerous representatives in the 
Park, the most important being the Calypso bulbosa or 
borealis. 


236 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


There are many trees and shrubs in the Park, some of 
which are described in the two preceding chapters, that 
yield such beautiful autumnal foliage as almost to entitle 
them to be classed with the flowers. Among the more con¬ 
spicuous are the Quaking Aspen, the Red Osier or Dog¬ 
wood (Cornus stolonifera ), the Oregon Grape (Berberis 
agrifolium ), valued for its medicinal qualities, and the 
Nine-bark (Opulaster pauciflorus ). 

Several of the grasses are exceedingly beautiful in their 
season of blossom, and, like the autumn leaves, deserve to 
be considered with the flowers. 

It may be added that certain domestic flowers grow 
unusually well under cultivation in the Park. This is par¬ 
ticularly true of Pansies, which attain a size of blossom 
and a richness of coloring unsurpassed anywhere. 


CHAPTER XI 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 

O WING to the state of transition in which the Park 
road system must continue, while it is being devel¬ 
oped to meet the ever-increasing demands of use, it is dif¬ 
ficult to treat the subject in a way which will remain 
authoritative for any considerable length of time. For this 
reason, those general features only will here be considered 
which are reasonably permanent in character and which 
will prevail, no matter how extensive future developments 
may be. 

As a general policy, the extension of the system should 
be restricted to actual necessities. The Park should be pre¬ 
served in its natural state to the fullest degree possible. 
While it is true that highways are least objectionable of all 
forms of artificial changes in natural conditions, still they 
should not be unnecessarily extended, and the great body 
of the Park should be kept inaccessible except on foot or 
horseback. But a road once found necessary should be made 
as perfect as possible. So far as it may detract from the 
scenery, it is far less objectionable as a well-built work 
than if left in a rough and incomplete state. The true 
policy of the government in dealing with this problem 
should therefore be to make the roads as limited in extent 
as will meet actual necessities, but to make such as are 
found necessary perfect examples of their class. 

From the very beginning of the Park the general scope 
of a completed road system has been apparent enough. The 
situation of the chief points of interest, convenience of 
access from the outside, means of reaching subordinate at- 
237 


238 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


tractions, and the necessities of patrol service, have de¬ 
termined the essential features of the system. These 
embrace a general circuit or belt line connecting all the 
important centers of interest; four approaches or en¬ 
trances, one on each side of the Park, numerous side roads 
to isolated objects of interest; and bridle trails through 
sections of the Park where roads are not likely to be 
built. 

The Grand Loop Road of the Park includes the fol¬ 
lowing localities, which are the six great centers of attrac¬ 
tion: Mammoth Hot Springs, Norris Geyser Basin, 
the Firehole Geyser Basins, Yellowstone Lake, the Grand 
Canyon of the Yellowstone, and the country around Tower 
Falls. Between the east and west sides of the circuit, 
where they approach nearest each other, there is a cross¬ 
road, extending from Norris to the Grand Canyon. The 
total mileage of the belt line and of this cross-road is 152 
miles. 

One of the principal approaches is that from the 
north, where the Northern Pacific Railroad touches the 
border of the Park. The distance from the station at 
Gardiner to the belt line at Mammoth Hot Springs is five 
miles. 

This last point, being the headquarters of the Park 
administration and business management and the base of 
operations and supply of all the activities on the reserva¬ 
tion, the road connecting it with the railroad is and will 
always continue to be by far the most important for its 
length of any in the Park. 

Another important approach is that from the west. 
The Union Pacific railway system touches the border 
of the Park in the Madison River valley at West Yellow¬ 
stone station, which has now become the most convenient 
entrance for visitors from the vast territory tributary to 
this great railway system. In number of visitors, the 
western approach already ranks with that from the north. 
The road ascends the valleys of Madison River to the 



Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Christmas Tree Park near the West Entrance of the Park 





















































































































THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


239 


junction of its two tributaries, the Gibbon and Firehole, 
a distance of 13^4 miles, and joins the Grand Loop Road at 
Madison Junction, where one of the large public automobile 
camps is situated. 

The ©astern approach lies partly within the Park and 
partly in the Shoshone national forest. It connects with 
the Burlington Railway system at Cody, Wyoming, and 
leads from the valley of Shoshone River through Sylvan 
Pass to the Grand Loop at the Lake outlet. It is 82 miles 
long, of which distance 27 miles is within the Park. 

The southern approach lies partly in the Park and 
partly in the Teton national forest. The South entrance 
may be reached by several automobile routes. Recent de¬ 
velopment of the highway from Lander, Wyoming, on the 
Chicago and Northwestern Railway has made that route 
popular. A road from Ashton, Idaho, on the Union Pacific 
System is being developed as well as highways from Jack- 
son, Wyoming, and other points. 

The advent of the automobile has already given to the 
Eastern approach an importance comparable to that of 
the north and west. Owing to the wonderful scenic attrac¬ 
tions of Jackson Hole, the entrance of a transcontinental 
railway system into that valley would immensely augment 
travel from that direction. 

The principal side roads are the following: To the 
Middle Gardiner Falls and around Bunsen Peak; a gen¬ 
eral circuit of the Lower Basin; through the various 
points of interest in the Upper Basin; to Sulphur 
Mountain in Hayden Valley; to Artist Point on the 
right bank of the Grand Canyon; to Inspiration Point 
on the left bank; to the summit of Mt. Washburn by the 
Chittenden road; and up the valleys of Lamar River 
and Soda Butte Creek to "the northeast corner of the 
Park. The total mileage of these roads is about 74 
miles. 


240 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


The only road in the Park, except the one leading to 
the northeast corner (Cooke City), and the Grasshopper 
Glacier region, as distinguished from the ordinary purpose 
of the Park roads, is one built by the County of Gallatin 
in the year 1910, under federal authority, to connect two 
sections of the county by the only natural route between 
them. The road enters the Park in the valley of the 
Gallatin River in the extreme northwest corner, ascends 
this valley about 8 miles, crosses due south to the 
valley of Grayling Creek, which it follows out of the 
Park. The total distance inside the reservation is about 20 
miles. 

Nature herself determined the broad general location 
of the Park roads, but she left a great deal of latitude to 
the engineer, and careful attention was given to this matter 
when it came to a reconstruction and extension of the old 
system. The primary considerations were to secure good 
gradients and safe locations and to carry the roads where 
they would best develop the scenery. The use of the roads 
for freight traffic was always a secondary consideration in 
this preliminary work. The final locations are not every¬ 
where what they ought to be, for in the earlier work little 
attention was paid to this matter, and in later years the 
desire to save expense caused the retention of several faulty 
pieces of work. 

In the matter of gradients the standard adopted was the 
result of much study. The use of the roads by horse- 
drawn vehicles was assumed to be a permanent condition. 
A gradient steeper than about four feet in the hundred 
would cause ascending vehicles to slow down to a walk, 
and then it made little difference in the speed if the 
gradient were as steep as eight per cent, which was about 
the limit that four-horse coaches could safely descend at 
a trot. To build on a fouj* per cent gradient or less would, 
in many situations, have involved such an increase in 
length of road, such difficulty of construction, so great an 
increase of cost, and subsequent increase in cost of use 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


241 


and maintenance, that the rather high figure of eight per 
cent was adopted. On two side roads, that around Bunsen 
Peak and the road over the summit of Mt. Washburn, and 
also on the east side of Sylvan Pass on the eastern ap¬ 
proach, the gradients run up to ten and twelve per cent; 
but the situation would admit of nothing less except at a 
cost which was prohibitory. 

The crucial feature of the Park road problem is, of 
course, that of construction. It is a never-ending struggle 
with inadequate means. The country through which the 
Park roads are built is rough and mountainous, largely 
covered with dense forests, intersected with a network of 
streams, and lies at an altitude where the snow falls to 
great depth. The soil is' a mixture of a great variety of 
substances which are for the most part unfit for road 
building. The rock is nearly all of volcanic character and 
with few exceptions too soft for a satisfactory macadam. 
Beds of gravel occur at too rare intervals for general use 
as a surfacing material. The streams are torrential in 
character and subject to heavy freshets in the spring. 
There are over sixty bridges and five hundred culverts. 
But in spite of this evidence of the great abundance of 
water, the chief drawback to the maintenance of the roads 
is its absence during certain periods; for the drought of 
summer is even a greater disintegrating agency than that 
of excess of water. 

The full magnitude of the Park road problem is not easy 
of appreciation except by an expert, and its proper solution 
requires so heavy an outlay that it will probably not soon 
be realized. There arose in 1915 the difficult additional 
feature of adapting the roads to automobile use. A simple 
matter, at first sight, it becomes, on close examination, one 
of extreme complexity. The snows of spring and fall will 
make operation difficult, no matter how good the roads, 
while the danger of frightening teams was a serious problem 
during 1915 and 1916 when both stage coaches and auto¬ 
mobiles used the roads. 


242 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Horseback and foot traffic now use the Howard Eaton 
trail, and the stagecoach has been replaced by the automo¬ 
bile stage. 

In their present condition, the roads conform generally 
to the following description: The standard width of clearing 
through timber is thirty feet except in some places where 
it is widened to facilitate the melting of snow. The 
standard width of roadway is eighteen feet, but this has 
been materially increased in the more important situations. 
A sub-foundation of rock has been used in several places 
and a covering of broken rock or gravel was placed upon 
the greater portion of the main circuit. Lack of means 
has so far made anything like a thorough modern treatment 
of the roadbed, such as would withstand heavy automobile 
traffic, impracticable. 

Bridges are now constructed mainly of concrete and 
steel, and culverts of concrete and galvanized iron; but 
timber is still used on the less important structures. Mile 
posts of turned cedar are placed along the entire system, 
and signboards at all junction points. Take it all in all, 
the scope of the system is adequate, and the great deside¬ 
ratum is that it be perfected by more thorough construc¬ 
tion. 

Among the more interesting, difficult, and costly pieces 
of work so far constructed are the following: The road 
through the lower Gardiner Canyon; the passage of the 
Travertine Rocks, two miles and a half above Mammoth 
Hot Springs; the cliff road in Golden Gate Canyon; the 
water grade in Gibbon Canyon; the Firehole Road; Spring 
Creek Canyon, Craig Pass and Corkscrew Hill on the 
Continental Divide road; the road along the rapids of the 
Yellowstone; the side road to the summit of Mt. Wash¬ 
burn; the cliff road at Tower Falls; the road through 
the East Gardiner Canyon; and the crossing of Sylvan Pass 
on the eastern approach. 

The principal structures are: The entrance gate at the 
north boundary; the Golden Gate Viaduct; the Melan 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


243 


Arch bridge over the rapids of the Yellowstone; the 
wooden arch bridge over a dry ravine in the same vicinity; 
a steel arch bridge over Cascade Creek; the new Baronett 
bridge over the Yellowstone; the Canyon Bridge; the arch 
bridge over Tower Creek; and the five-span steel arch over 
the Middle Gardiner. 

As might be inferred from the foregoing description of 
the material of which the roads are at present constructed, 
maintenance is an extremely difficult matter. It is physic¬ 
ally impossible to maintain a good road surface of such 
material during periods of either excess or deficiency of 
moisture, and these, unfortunately, absorb a large portion 
of the tourist season. Travel begins before the snow has 
disappeared and June is generally a month of high water, 
mud, and the concomitant discomforts. Then usually 
follow delightful climatic conditions, with occasional rains, 
and the roads are at their best. The dust period succeeds, 
and the problem of dealing with it is the most difficult of 
any. It has been partially met by a system of water 
sprinkling, but its final solution will be found only in a 
road surface of some form of macadam on which the dust 
will be controlled probably by the use of oil. Constant 
care of the roads by repair parties during the season of 
travel mitigates the present unavoidable drawbacks to some 
extent. 

In the execution of so large a work and one of such 
variety of detail there were naturally some features and 
incidents of more than ordinary interest. A few of these 
will be briefly considered. 

Entrance Gate at Gardiner. This consists of two large 
towers 12 feet 8 inches square and 19 feet 8 inches apart 
closed over by an arch the crown of which is 30 feet above 
the ground. The entire structure is 50 feet high and is 
capped with a concrete roof shingled with chippings from 
the stone used in the arch. 

The character of the masonry is entirely original. It 
consists of columnar basalt, taken from a quarry near by, 


244 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


in approximately hexagonal prisms. These have been used 
just as found, with the least possible dressing, retaining 
their natural weather-worn condition. The points of the 
prisms project beyond the plane of the face and give to 
the whole structure a novel appearance as a masonry 
work. 

The side of the structure which faces the station is 
ornamented with three tablets. The largest is 3 feet 10 
inches by 20 feet 8 inches, and bears the inscription, “ For 
the benefit and enjoyment of the people ”—an extract from 
the Act creating the Park. The smaller tablet on the left 
tower is inscribed, “Yellowstone National Park”; that 
on the right, “ Created by Act of Congress March 1, 1872.” 
These tablets were molded entirely of concrete. The 
forms for the letters were cut out in reverse with great 
accuracy. They were made so as to give a depressed letter 
in the concrete, and with a triangular cross-section, so as 
to be easily removed after the concrete was set. 

The Golden Gate Viaduct. This structure is a series of 
eleven concrete arches, the piers being of irregular height 
to fit the shape of the cliff on which they rest. The length 
of the viaduct is 200 feet and the width of roadway 18 feet. 
The gravel for the concrete was taken from a quarry on 
Swan Lake flat about a mile distant. The whole structure 
on the inner side is built into the cliff and the footing of 
the piers was especially prepared to prevent sliding. 

The execution of this work was one of extraordinary 
difficulty. This arose first from the conformation of the 
canyon and its influence upon the winds, which prevailed 
during the entire season. The canyon is practically the 
small end of a funnel, which gathers up the wind on the 
plateau above and conveys it through to the lower country. 
The wind was high nearly every day during the work. At 
times it attained the force of a gale with sufficient power 
to pick up stones half an inch in diameter. When it came 
to mixing the concrete it was found almost impossible to 
conduct the work during the middle of the day. The dust 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


245 


and cement filled the eyes and lungs of the workmen in 
spite of goggles and handkerchiefs. On this account men 
kept constantly quitting, notwithstanding increased pay for 
concrete work, and their places had to be filled with new 
and inexperienced men. Of the original force few were 
working at its completion, although a nearly uniform num¬ 
ber was maintained by constant recruiting. Only one acci¬ 
dent occurred during the work, and that was by a man 
being actually blown from the concrete forming onto the 
rocks below. 

An interesting incident of this work was the removal 
to a new position of a conspicuous rock at the entrance to 
the viaduct. It is particularly noteworthy as a concession 
to the natural sentiment against change in things with 
which one has become familiar. When the original wooden 
viaduct was built a vertical thumb-shaped rock was found 
standing directly in the proposed lower entrance. The 
builder was for bowling it over without ceremony into the 
canyon below, but was induced to retain it by the earnest 
solicitation of an enthusiastic friend of the Park,* although 
the passage between the rock and the cliff was barely wide 
enough for an ordinary vehicle to squeeze through. When 
it came to rebuilding the bridge the revised grade raised 
the road at this point several feet and the new width left 
the rock about in the middle of the roadway. It was im¬ 
possible to retain the rock where it was, and steps were in 
progress to remove it when the Park photographer, whose 
pictures of it were scattered wherever photographs are 


*G. L. Henderson, brother of the late Speaker Henderson of 
the House of Representatives, and Assistant Superintendent to 
Superintendent Conger. His family was long connected with the 
Park, one daughter keeping a store and the post office at Mam¬ 
moth Hot Springs for many years and another being the wife of 
H. E. Klamer, elsewhere referred to, who formerly owned the 
store at the Upper Basin. Mr. Henderson originated several of 
the popular Park names, among them being Golden Gate, Cathe¬ 
dral Rock, Minerva and Jupiter Terraces, Orange Geyser, and 
Narrow Gauge Terrace. 



246 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


looked at, entered a vigorous protest. He was able, more¬ 
over, to enlist respectable support—so potent, in fact, that 
the engineer, after some caustic comment upon sentimental¬ 
ism in general, told the photographer to go his way—the 
rock would be saved. It is now five feet higher, five feet 
farther to the front, and five feet farther from the cliff 
than it used to be; yet no one would suspect that it stands on 
a man-made pedestal instead of the one which nature 
provided. 

Chittenden Bridge at Grand Canyon, Until 1903 
there was no bridge across the Yellowstone in the vicinity 
of the Falls and the right bank of the Grand Canyon was 
practically inaccessible to the public. As some of the finest 
views were to be had from that side (Artist Point, for 
example, which Moran chose for his painting), it was 
considered desirable to provide means of getting across. 
This section of the river, immediately above the Upper 
Falls, presented numerous sites on which an ordinary 
bridge could be built at no great cost; but the remarkable 
scenic attractions of the rapids made any ordinary structure 
seem out of place. Accordingly it was decided to build 
something worthy of the situation and a single arch of 
slender profile was selected as the type of structure. The 
exact form was a matter of careful study in order to get 
the lines which would appeal to the eye as meeting the 
artistic requirements. 

The span of the bridge is 120 feet and the rise of the 
arch is 15 feet. The height of the roadway at the center 
is 43 feet above low water in the river. The abutments 
are natural rock. The arch contains ten steel girders, 
which give it great strength. The body of the structure is 
solid concrete. The forms for the ornamental railing were 
manufactured in St. Paul, but the railing itself was molded 
in rich Portland cement mortar in place. 

The most difficult feature of the work, and the only 
one involving serious risk, was the building of the false 
work to support the forms for the concrete while in plastic 



Copyright , J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Chittenden Bridge over the Yellowstone River at Grand Canyon 

The longest Melan Arch Bridge in the World 










THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 247 

condition. It was necessary to build a temporary pier in 
the center of the stream in the swiftest part of the rapids 
with the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone only a little way 
below. There would be small chance of escape for any 
one falling into the stream; but the chance was taken by 
one man who fell from the work, but, providentially, was 
caught in an eddy a little way below the bridge site and 
carried into shallow water near the bank. 

The concrete work, contrary to usual practice at that 
time with such large masses, was placed in one continuous 
operation. This would have been simple enough with a 
mechanical mixer, but was much more difficult where the 
mixing was done by hand. Elaborate preparations were 
made. All the material—gravel, broken rock, sand, cement 
—was gathered and distributed at convenient points about 
the site. A date was chosen in full moon in August and 
a temporary electric lighting plant was installed. A force 
of 150 men was assembled from the various road crews 
and divided into three shifts. When all was ready, the 
concrete mixing was begun and continued without inter¬ 
mission in 8-hour shifts for 74 hours, or until the work 
was complete. 

The Chittenden Road up Mount Washburn leaves the 
Grand Loop at Dunraven Pass on the Mount Washburn 
division of the road system and climbs the southern face 
of the mountain to a high saddle just east of the main 
summit, whence it descends the north slope and rejoins the 
main line four miles beyond Dunraven Pass. From the 
saddle just mentioned a spiral road climbs to the very 
summit, which has been planed down so as to give a flat 
table large enough for an automobile to turn around on. 
A portion of the original rock pinnacle was preserved in 
the center. Its elevation above sea level is 10,100 feet. 

The construction of the Chittenden road, seven miles 
in all, was an exceptionally difficult piece of work, par¬ 
ticularly on the south side. The working crews had to 
camp at a considerable distance below because of lack of 


248 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


water, and the work on the various zigzags was greatly 
hampered by rocks rolling down from the work above. An 
immense amount of blasting was required, and this pro¬ 
duced some spectacular effects as seen from the summit. 
Large numbers of blasts would be let off during the noon 
hour and the long ridge jutting out from the summit 
looked as if it might be a vast rampart behind which artil¬ 
lery was playing upon an enemy. 

A most singular incident occurred in connection with 
this blasting work. On a neighboring ridge or hog-back a 
quarter of a mile away a herd of mountain sheep were seen 
almost daily pursuing their usual order of life. Strange 
to say, the terrific cannonading did not alarm them and 
they were apparently far enough away not to be reached 
by the debris. But one day a fragment of rock did reach 
the herd, and killed a fine ram. The road crew were so 
exercised over the affair, for fear they would be disciplined 
by the Park authorities for killing game, that they did not 
even visit the site of the accident but remained away until 
the soldiers came to see for themselves. 

In explaining what has so far been done toward the 
development of an adequate road system for the Park, it 
must not be supposed that this will be the limit of govern¬ 
ment endeavor to build up here the finest system of moun¬ 
tain roads in the world; and we may be pardoned for 
stepping ahead into the future and forecasting what the 
final development should be. While the present locations 
are not likely to be changed except in minor details, the 
width of the roads should be greatly increased; the im¬ 
provement of the surface should be carried on until a 
satisfactory road bed is everywhere secured; the means of 
laying dust should be developed to the highest possible 
efficiency; strong guard walls should be built along all side 
hill grades; the dead and decaying timber should be cleared 
away from the roads to a distance of 100 feet, the trees 
thinned out, and grass and shrubbery introduced to beautify 
the roadside and induce game to show themselves; the 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


249 


structures should be built, as far as possible, of rustic de¬ 
sign, and all other work should be carried out with due 
reference to the purpose of the roads as public highways 
in the world’s greatest of natural parks. The opportunities 
for artistic design in harmony with the surroundings are 
almost endless, and it is to those who are to follow after the 
pioneer work is done that the real satisfaction of correct 
’results will come. 

It is the ultimate realization of an end like this that 
will permanently exclude railroads from the Park. The 
only real argument in their favor now is the discomfort of 
coach travel arising from the condition of the roads. It 
is not necessary to rehearse here the arguments for their 
exclusion, for they are well understood. They may all be 
summed up in the general statement that the moment 
railroads are built through the Park it loses forever that 
original condition which is one of its greatest charms. 
They would undoubtedly work serious damage to the game, 
and to the forests, to say nothing of their effect on the 
natural beauty of this region. Electric lines would be less 
objectionable than steam roads, but the same fundamental 
argument applies to them as well. The people prefer not 
to find these things in this Reservation; they prefer to 
travel independently either by automobile, on horseback 
or afoot. This question was once put to a vote of the tour¬ 
ists, and their voice was ninety-five per cent in favor of the 
absolute exclusion of every form of railroad. 

One of the first official acts of Stephen T. Mather, Direc¬ 
tor of the National Park Service, when he became connected 
with the Department of the Interior in Washington, D. C., 
was to admit automobiles in the Parks in 1915. The auto¬ 
mobile has proven popular and has given a decided impetus 
to Park travel. In 1915 the total number of visitors was 
51,895. Travel lessened during the war, but in 1919 there 
were 62,261 and the year following 79,777, while in 1921, 
1922 and 1923 the increases were amazing. In 1923 there 
were 138,342 visitors. 


250 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


With this development the National Park Service es¬ 
tablished many large public automobile camps in the Park, 
as many motorists bring their own camping equipment. 
These sites are supplied with pure running water, sanita¬ 
tion facilities and fuel. At the larger camps are new Ranger 
Stations and Community Centers, which are the headquar¬ 
ters of the rangers assigned to duty in the vicinity. 

At first, when automobiles were allowed to enter the 
Park there was much misgiving on the part of the public. 
Many people thought that horse-drawn stages should be 
retained; but when the automobile came, it rapidly dis¬ 
placed other forms of traffic, and now two fine systems— 
motor highways, and trails—accommodate the thousands of 
visitors according to their preferences. The snow obstacle 
will surely be overcome, and is largely so already, by 
more perfect roadbeds, by the ingenuity of the motor 
maker, by the activity of the road parties in the Spring. 
The frightening of teams is entirely obviated by driving 
all teams out of the Park. The sage-brush tourist comes 
in with his Ford now, or with his neighbors hires a motor 
truck, and camps through. So undoubtedly this form of 
motor traffic has come to stay and is already showing its 
great benefits by the shortening of travel time, by the 
removal of the horses’ shoes from the road surface and 
the great lessening of the dust nuisance, in addition to 
much easier wear and tear to the road surface. It has 
already made possible the closing of two lunch stations 
(Norris and the Thumb), and the Fountain Hotel, and 
will undoubtedly work further similar results. It is uni¬ 
versally conceded that the change is very beneficial and 
will be permanent. 

Possibly in this place better than anywhere else, the 
author may set down an observation which, in fairness to 
the record, should not be omitted. The old Yellowstone— 
the Yellowstone of the pioneer and the explorer—is a thing 
of the past. To the survivors, now grown old, of the 
romantic era of the Park, who reveled in the luxury of 
“ new ” things; who really felt, as they wandered through 


THE PARK ROAD SYSTEM 


251 


this fascinating region, that they were treading virgin soil; 
who traveled on foot or horseback and slept only in tents 
or beneath the open sky—to them the Park means some¬ 
thing which it does not mean to the present-day visitor. 
And that is why these old-timers as a rule have ceased to 
visit the Park. The change saddens them and they prefer 
to see this region as it exists in memory rather than in its 
modern reality. 

The author’s work in the Park embraced the period of 
transition from the old order to the new and was in some 
measure responsible for it. But in spite of a change that 
was inevitable, his sympathy has always inclined him to 
the view-point of the pioneer. The thirst for innovation 
is a natural trait of every mind, but there is danger in 
a situation like this of its leading too far. This great Park 
needs little “ improvement ” except in those respects which 
directly concern the comfort of the tourist.* In all other 
respects the greatest service which official authority can 
render to posterity is to maintain and transmit this pos¬ 
session as it came from the hand of Nature. 


* The words “ for the improvement ” of the Park, which used 
to appear in the appropriation bills, and possibly do still, always 
grated harshly on the author’s ears. 



CHAPTER XII 


ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK 

T HE National Park Service, the youngest bureau of 
the Department of the Interior, has charge of the 
administration and protection of all of the national parks 
and national monuments in the United States. A brief 
history of the organization of the Service, and an outline 
of its policies are included here so the readers of this book 
may have a true appreciation of the high ideals of its 
founders and personnel. 

Stephen T. Mather first entered the Department of the 
Interior on January 21, 1915 as Assistant to the Secretary, 
Franklin K. Lane, who prevailed on him to relinquish the 
active management of his private business and take a 
public office. The urgent need for an organization to as¬ 
sume control incident to managing the steadily growing 
system of National Parks was evident to both Secretary 
Lane and Mr. Mather who together worked toward the 
establishment of the National Park Service, which was 
created by an act of Congress, signed August 25, 1916, by 
President Woodrow Wilson. 

Mr. Mather resigned as Assistant to the Secretary to 
accept the commission of Director of the National Park 
Service on May 16, 1917. In 1915 when Mr. Mather first 
became interested in the management of the National 
Parks there were 12 National Parks and 18 National 
Monuments. Since that time several National Parks have 
been added—Rocky Mountain, Hawaii, Lassen Volcanic, 
Mount McKinley, Grand Canyon, Lafayette and Zion; 
and the National Monument system has been so extensively 
increased that now there are thirty or more monuments 
of great scenic, historic or scientific importance. The 

252 


ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK 253 


National Park Service has jurisdiction over nearly fourteen 
thousand square miles of land in which are situated the 
greatest natural spectacles and the most wonderful scenery 
in the United States. 

The following paragraph inserted by Congress in the 
organic act creating the National Park Service sets forth 
the highest function of the bureau. It reads: 

“The service thus established shall promote and regulate 
the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monu¬ 
ments and reservations hereinafter specified by such means 
and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the 
said parks, monuments, and reservations, which purpose is to 
conserve the scenery and the natural and historical objects 
and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of 
the same in such manner and by such means as will leave 
them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” 

Since the establishment of the Service several National 
Parks and Monuments have been created through the efforts 
of the Director and other members of the Service, hearing 
in mind the National Park policy outlined in the state¬ 
ment of Franklin K. Lane, in a communication to the 
Director dated May 13, 1918, which, in part, reads: 

“In studying new park projects you should seek to find 
scenery of supreme and distinctive quality or some natural 
feature so extraordinary or unique as to be of national interest 
and importance. You should seek distinguished examples of 
typical forms of world architecture, such, for instance, as the 
Grand 'Canyon, as exemplifying the highest accomplishment 
of stream erosion, and the high, rugged portion of Mount 
Desert Island as exemplifying the oldest rock forms in Amer¬ 
ica and the luxuriance of deciduous forests. 

The national park system as now constituted should not be 
lowered in standard, dignity and prestige by the inclusion of 
areas which express in less than the highest terms the particu¬ 
lar class or kind of exhibit which they represent.” 

In the report of Director Mather of the National Park 
Service to the Secretary of the Interior, for the fiscal year 
ended June 30, 1920, the National Park policy was clearly 
expressed in his words: 

“When I accepted the Department’s invitation to undertake 
in the public interest the development of the National Parks 
into a smoothly-running, well co-ordinated system, I found in 


254 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

the terms of the invitation, in the attitude toward my new 
mission among my friends and acquaintances and in the pub¬ 
lic, in the national attitude of that part of the people who 
then knew anything about National Parks, in the national 
policy since the creation of the Yellowstone Park in 1872 
and the constant repetition of that policy in subsequent na¬ 
tional-park legislation, as I found it in practice in the Depart¬ 
ment of the Interior and learned it from Members of Congress 
of both parties, and in the principles of more than 40 years 
that had been developed in the Public Lands Committees and 
Appropriations Committees of both Houses of Congress, every¬ 
where, I repeat, there was only the one conception of our 
National Parks, namely, that they were areas conserved in a 
complete state of nature for the use of the whole people 
and should remain undisturbed in their natural condition for 
all time.” 

Horace M. Albright, after leaving college, became a law 
clerk and assistant attorney in the Department of the In¬ 
terior in Washington, D. C., and on account of his knowl¬ 
edge of the West and his keen interest in national parks 
was assigned problems relating to them which qualified him 
to become assistant to Mr. Mather. Albright being inspired 
and encouraged by his able chief was given more responsi¬ 
bility as the work progressed, and in 1917 was appointed 
Assistant Director of the National Park Service, the first 
to hold this office. During 1917, 1918 and 1919 as 
Assistant Director, and Acting Director during Mr. 
Mather’s illness, he took part in many of the great¬ 
est events in national park history, and on June 28, 
1919, became Superintendent of Yellowstone National 
Park. As Superintendent he has ably managed the park 
as well as being Field Assistant to the Director. 

The headquarters of Yellowstone National Park are at 
Mammoth Hot Springs, five miles from the North Gate¬ 
way. Here are the executive offices of the Park adminis¬ 
tration, and the larger of the public utilities that operate 
therein under government regulations and supervision. 
Offenders charged with violations of the rules and regu¬ 
lations are tried at headquarters by the United States 
Commissioner for the Park. 


ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK 255 

The United States Post Office in the park, called Yel¬ 
lowstone Park, Wyoming, is at Mammoth Hot Springs, 
in connection with which a delivery system has been in¬ 
augurated recently for park patrons and employes through¬ 
out the entire park. 

The National Park Service maintains an official bureau 
of information in a building near the Superintendent’s 
office for the use of tourists, free of charge. In connection 
with this bureau a government museum of the natural 
history of the park is being developed. 

The park is protected by a permanent ranger force, 
composed of men skilled in forest fire fighting, and in the 
detection of offenses in violation of the rules and regula¬ 
tions governing the park. This ranger force is augmented 
in the summer season by temporary rangers, who are as¬ 
signed to protect the natural features of the park. This 
temporary force, as well as the regular ranger service, is 
charged with the duty of giving information to visitors, and 
rendering such other assistance to the touring public as 
time and opportunity permits. There is a Ranger Station 
at each entrance near all junction points, in each comer of 
the park, and on the summit of Mount Washburn. 

A system of free public automobile camps has been de¬ 
veloped throughout the park. These camps are provided 
with pure running water, fuel and sanitation facilities by 
the National Park Service. Sanitation work is handled 
co-operatively with the U. S. Public Health Service. Among 
these camping areas are found attractive sites to meet all 
the needs and desires of the motorists. 

Many notable achievements have been accomplished in 
the park. The park highways have been widened, and 
grades reduced at innumerable places. Strong parapets 
have been built to protect motorists on curves and pre¬ 
cipitous places. New and larger ranger stations have 
been built at the principal points, such as Old Faithful, 
Yellowstone Lake and Grand Canyon; and a stone build¬ 
ing on the summit of Mount Washburn. The development 


256 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of the public automobile camps has been rapid, enabling 
thousands of motorists to avail themselves of splendid sites 
with all needed protection and facilities. Ideal water sup¬ 
plies and sanitation facilities have been installed at each 
of these camps. 

The care of the wild animals is an important function 
of the service. The Buffalo herd (American Bison) now 
numbers nearly eight hundred, and other animals 
are being protected from the ravages of disease and from 
predatory animals. The fishing waters of the park are 
being stocked by the United States Bureau of Fisheries 
in co-operation with the National Park Service, and mil¬ 
lions of eyed eggs and fingerlings have been planted in 
the lakes and streams, thus keeping abreast of the con¬ 
stantly increasing demands of fishermen. The various 
other governmental departments have co-operated with 
the National Park Service in the development of the park 
and the protection of the trees and other attractions. 

Since the establishment of the National Park Service 
the park mile-post system has been revised, and a code 
of abbreviations formulated, for example, the entrances 
are designated as follows: 

INE North Entrance. 

SE South Entrance. 

EE East Entrance. 

WE West Entrance. 

The points on the Grand Loop Road of the Park served 
by the four entrance highways are designated as follows: 

MS Mammoth Hot Springs. 

NJ Norris Junction. 

MJ Madison Junction. 

OF Old Faithful (Upper Geyser Basin). 

WT West Thumb. 

LJ Lake Junction. 

CJ Canyon Junction. 

TJ Tower Fall Junction. 

MtW Mount Washburn. 

The many problems incident to the proper supervision 


ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK 257 

and regulation of park utilities have been solved satis¬ 
factorily by the Service and everything is being done to 
keep the facilities and accommodations ample, and of 
high standard. The regulation of the automobile traffic 
is a notable example of the efficiency of the officers in 
charge of Yellowstone National Park. 

Under supervision of the National Park Service, through 
the Park Superintendent, the care of the visiting public is 
entrusted to private interests through franchises, the 
more important of which are the following: 

Yellowstone Park Hotel Company, operating hotels at 
Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake 
and Grand Canyon. 

Yellowstone Park Camps Company, operating perma¬ 
nent camps at Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, 
Yellowstone Lake, Grand Canyon and near Tower 
Fall Junction. 

The Cody Road Lunch station, established in 1924, at 
the East Entrance, is operated jointly by the two above- 
named companies. 

Yellowstone Park Transportation Company, operating 
a line of automobile stages to and from all entrances 
and through the Park to all the hotels and permanent 
camps. 

Haynes Picture Shops, Inc., operating picture and book 
shops at Mammoth Hot Springs, Old Faithful, Grand 
Canyon, and Tower Fall, and sales stands in the four 
hotels and the four larger permanent camps. 

C. A. Hamilton, general stores at Old Faithful, West 
Thumb and Yellowstone Lake Outlet. 

George Whittaker, general stores at Mammoth Hot 
Springs and Grand Canyon. 

Park Curio Shop, at Mammoth Hot Springs. 

Henry P. Brothers, operating swimming-pool baths at 
Old Faithful. 

There have been many important developments in the 
park since the National Park Service was created. 

In 1921 William C. Gregg, manufacturer, Hackensack, 
N. J., organized a party to explore the southwest corner 


258 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of the park. Colonei C. H. Birdseye, Chief Topographic 
Engineer of the United States Geological Survey, made an 
accurate survey of the mountains and streams of this 
interesting “Cascade Corner” which was published by the 
Survey. This party suggested names for the many larger 
waterfalls, streams and features heretofore undiscovered 
and unnamed, almost all of which were adopted by the 
United States Geographic Board. This expedition was 
made possible through the co-operation of the National 
Park Service and the valuable assistance rendered by 
Rangers Raymond C. Little and Harry Trischman, who 
were detailed to accompany the party. A complete series 
of seventy-nine pictures was made by J. E. Haynes, park 
photographer. Illustrated articles prepared by Mr. Gregg, 
who led the expedition, were published throughout the 
country. 

Even though Yellowstone Park had then been estab¬ 
lished nearly fifty years, there were features of tremendous 
importance and scenic interest in the southwest corner 
which were not discovered until 1921. 

As a result of the explorations of this party, and the 
personal explorations by Superintendent Albright, a high¬ 
way was completed in 1923 to Cave Falls at the south 
boundary, and a road surveyed through this region from 
Old Faithful by the National Park Service. 

Under the auspices of the National Editorial Association 
the Semi-Centennial celebration of the establishment of 
the park was held at Madison Junction in 1922. The 
ceremonies were held near the site of the camp-fire of the 
Washbum-Langford party on Sept. 19, 1870 where and 
when Cornelius Hedges first suggested that the national 
park be created. The programme was conducted in a very 
fitting and efficient manner, which was gratifying to all 
who were fortunate enough to be present. 

On June 30th and July 1, 1923 President Harding, 
with Mrs. Harding and several members of his cabinet, 
including Dr. Hubert Work, Secretary of the Interior, and 
other prominent officials, visited Yellowstone Park, twenty 


ADMINISTRATION OF THE PARK 259 


years after President Roosevelt had visited the park in 
1903, and forty years after President Arthur’s trip of 1883. 

The consummation of the development of the trail system 
in Yellowstone Park was marked by the dedication of the 
Howard Eaton trail July 19, 1923, at Sheepeater Cliff, 
one of Howard Eaton’s favorite camping sites. Chief 
Ranger Sam T. Woodring, who planned and largely exe¬ 
cuted the Howard Eaton trail, 157 miles in length, sug¬ 
gested that it be named in honor of Howard Eaton, cele¬ 
brated horseman and guide, who had conducted nearly a 
hundred horseback parties through the Yellowstone. This 
trail parallels in a general way the Grand Loop Road of 
the Park, and meets the automobile highway at all points 
of importance, thus enabling the horseback parties and 
hikers to enjoy the vast wilderness of the Yellowstone, as 
well as visiting the prominent geographical features. 

At the suggestion of the Park Superintendent two moun¬ 
tains have recently been named. One, Mount Haynes in 
the Madison Canyon, named in 1922 in honor of Frank Jay 
Haynes, pioneer photographer and president of the Yel¬ 
lowstone-Western Stage Co., who spent forty years in the 
Yellowstone, and Cook Peak, near Mount Washburn, 
named in 1924 in honor of C. W. Cook, member of the 
Folsom-Cook exploring expedition of 1869. 

It is hoped that all visitors to the park will aid the 
National Park Service in preserving the park, its natural 
features, wild animals, birds, trees and flowers, safeguard 
it from devastation by forest fires and preserve the 
beauty of the public automobile camp-grounds and road 
sides, so that those who follow may enjoy the same pleasing 
impressions as did they. 


CHAPTER XIII 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 
Preliminary 

F ROM what has been thus far set forth the reader cannot 
have failed to observe how fortunate have been the 
events, in both prehistoric and recent times, which have 
made the Yellowstone Park what it is to-day. In the 
course of long ages Nature developed this region into its 
present attractive form and filled it with wonders which 
will always command the admiration of men. She placed 
it at the very apex of the continent, whence it sends forth 
in every direction perennial supplies of water to the thirsty 
desert around it. She overspread it with sheltering forests 
and grass-covered parks and valleys, where the native 
fauna, elsewhere fast passing away, may find a secure 
refuge in all future time. With infinite foresight she made 
it unfit for the gainful occupations of men, except in ex¬ 
ploiting her own wonders, so that every ordinary motive to 
appropriate it for private use is removed. For many years 
after the white man first looked within its borders, a rare 
combination of circumstances prevented it from becoming 
generally known until the time had arrived when the gov¬ 
ernment could effectually reserve it from settlement. 
Finally, since its formal erection into a public park, the 
same good fortune has attended it, in spite of many adverse 
influences, until it has become thoroughly intrenched in the 
good opinion of the people. 

It is undoubtedly true that in dedicating this region to 
“the benefit and enjoyment of the people,” the founders 
of the Yellowstone Park were wiser than they knew. Very 
260 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


261 


probably the word “benefit,” as we may now interpret it, 
had little weight with them, and was put in as a fuller 
justification of what was then an unprecedented measure. 
Most likely they saw no benefit in the new Park except 
that which flows from all true enjoyment; and it was, after 
all, the pleasure that comes from beholding the wonders of 
nature that influenced their action. 

In a large degree the same consideration prevails to-day. 
The people go to the Park to see its “ wonders,” and in 
their hurried visits this is about all they can attend to. 
Whatever interest they may feel in the history and physi¬ 
ography of this region, it is still the natural phenomena 
of which they have heard so much that receive their prin¬ 
cipal attention. It is therefore incumbent, in a work like 
the present, to consult the convenience of the visitor in this 
respect; and no better method suggests itself than to accom¬ 
pany him on a tour of the Park, explaining its features of 
interest as they fall under his observation. 

In the following description there will be mentioned in 
succinct outline all the notable objects of interest. The 
necessary limit of space forbids anything like extended 
description, even if the inherent difficulties of such a task 
would permit. Captain Ludlow has well stated the nature 
of these difficulties: 

“ The Park scenery, as a whole,” he says, “ is too grand, 
its scope too immense, its details too varied and minute, 
to admit of adequate description, save by some great writer, 
who, with mind and pen equally trained, can seize upon the 
salient points, and, with just discrimination, throw into 
proper relief the varied features of mingled grandeur, won¬ 
der, and beauty.” 

Of the many who have attempted, with pen or pencil, to 
reproduce the wonders of the Yellowstone, no one has yet 
completely satisfied these important requirements. The 
writer, for his part, will modestly decline any such under¬ 
taking, and, like that pioneer explorer, Folsom, will con¬ 
fine his descriptions “ to the bare facts.” He will, however, 


262 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


occasionally call to aid those who have seen and written 
of these wonders. To the early explorers, in particular, 
who entered this region before it became generally known, 
its strange phenomena appealed with an imaginative force 
which the guide-book tourist of to-day can hardly realize. 
This may account for the fact that some of these explorers, 
who never, before or since, put pen to paper with any 
literary purpose in view, have left in their narratives strokes 
of word painting which the most gifted writer would find 
it difficult to excel. 

The best season for the tour is in the early days of July. 
The rain and snow and chilly air, not uncommon in June, 
are gone. The drought and smoke of August and September 
are still remote. Only mosquitoes, so amazingly plentiful 
at certain seasons (Langford found them on the very sum¬ 
mit of the Grand Teton), are a drawback worth consider¬ 
ing. It is late enough, however, to call forth in their 
richest glory the profusion of flowers which everywhere 
abound in the Park. The air is at its best, full of life and 
energy, and clear—so clear that it confounds distances and 
gives to objects, though far away, a distinctness quite un¬ 
known in lower altitudes. The skies, as they appear at 
this season, surpass the sunny skies of Italy, and the tourist 
will find in their empyreal depths a beauty and fascination 
forever lacking in the dingy air of civilization. In short, 
the open-air rides through this rich mountain atmosphere 
form one of the most attractive and invigorating features 
of the tour. 

The marked changes worked by the entry of the auto¬ 
mobile does not in the least necessitate any change in the 
following description. The course of the tour now (1924), 
and undoubtedly hereafter, will be the same as heretofore, 
whatever the starting point, and will pass around the Grand 
Loop in the following order: from Mammoth Hot Springs 
to Norris Geyser Basin, the Firehole Geyser Basins, the 
Yellowstone Lake, the Grand Canyon, Mt. Washburn, and 
the country near Tower Falls. 


CHAPTER XIV 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


North Boundary to Mammoth Hot Springs 


D ISTANCE, five miles. The road for most of the 
way lies in the valley of the Gardiner. The principal 
points of interest en route are: 

Northern Entrance to the Parle. The Northern Pacific 
Railroad touches the Reservation at this point, where a 
well-designed and appropriate station has been erected. 
Just across the boundary the government has built a dig¬ 
nified and substantial gateway. The space between the 
station and gate, inclosed by a loop in the road leading to 
and from the platform, has been converted into a minia¬ 
ture park. The entrance arch was built of hexagonal prisms 
of basalt, as described in the chapter on the Park roads. 

The Junction of the Gardiner and Yellowstone Rivers 
determines the north boundary of the Park. 

The two prominent peaks which are in full view on the 
right as the tourist enters the Park are Electric Peak and 
Sepulcher Mountain. The feature which gave the latter 
its name is very apparent from this point. 

Soon after crossing the boundary the road enters the 
Gardiner Canyon, which it follows for two miles. Portions 
of this valley are exceedingly picturesque. The cliffs on 
the east shore are bold and precipitous, but of a loose 
texture which suggests constant danger from falling rocks. 
The nests of ospreys here and there crown detached pin¬ 
nacles. The chief beauty of the Canyon is in the stream 
itself, a typical, foaming, mountain torrent, of such rapid 
fall that, in its higher stages, it is a continuous mass of 

263 


264 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


snow-white foam. Dwarf cedar, cottonwood, willow, and 
the wild rose line its banks and give an added charm to its 
beauty. The tourist road crosses the river on steel bridges 
twice in the space of about a mile. 

Boiling River (3J miles). This feature, which can be 
seen from the hillside after the last crossing of the Gar¬ 
diner, is an immense stream of hot water issuing from 
an opening in the rocks, and discharging directly into the 
river. It is formed of the collected waters of Mammoth 
Hot Springs, which find their way to this point through 
subterranean channels. 

A winding road, which rises 600 feet in the distance of 
a mile and a half, carries the tourist from the valley of 
the Gardiner to the first of the great characteristic features 
of the Park, the world-renowned 

Mammoth Hot Springs , and to the administrative and 
business headquarters of the Park. This is the only point 
in the Park where an extensive transformation of natural 
conditions by the work of man has been permitted. It was 
unavoidable here, and in yielding to this necessity, the 
effort has been made to provide a substitute that would be 
in harmony with the natural surroundings, and would be 
in itself a feature of interest. The grounds on which the 
various buildings stand have been carefully graded, pro¬ 
vided with a thorough system of irrigation by which the 
old lime dust is converted into lawn, laid out with con¬ 
venient roads and walks, and ornamented with shade trees 
and shrubbery. The entire group of buildings is provided 
with an ample water supply from a neighboring mountain 
stream, and both buildings and grounds are lighted with 
electricity from a plant located in rear of Capitol Hill, and 
operated by water from the same source as the domestic 
supply. The principal buildings are those pertaining to the 
National Park Service, the Weather Bureau building, the 
Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, the office of the United 
States Commissioner and Mammoth Camp. 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


265 


First in importance, among the many natural features 
of interest accessible from this locality, are the Hot 
Springs Terraces. These have been built one upon another 
until the present active portion constitutes a hill rising 
300 feet above the site of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. 
The formation about these springs, it will be remembered, 
is calcareous, and to this fact is due its distinctive char¬ 
acter, so different from the silica formations which prevail 
nearly everywhere else in the Park. The overhanging 
bowls which these deposits build up are among the finest 
specimens of Nature’s work in the world, while the water 
which fills them is of that peculiar beauty to be found 
only in thermal springs. Speaking of this feature, Dr. 
Hayden says: 

“ The wonderful transparency of the water surpasses 
anything of the kind I have ever seen in any other portion 
of the world. The sky, with the smallest cloud that flits 
across it, is reflected in its clear depths, and the ultra- 
marine colors, more vivid than the sea, are greatly height¬ 
ened by constant, gentle vibrations. One can look down 
into the clear depths and see, with perfect distinctness, the 
minutest ornament on the inner sides of the basins; and 
the exquisite beauty of the coloring and the variety of 
forms baffle any attempt to portray them either with pen 
or pencil.” 

Cleopatra Spring, Jupiter Terrace, Pulpit Terrace, the 
Narrow Gauge Terrace —an incongruous name for a long 
fissure spring,—the White Elephant, another fissure spring, 
and the Orange Geyser, a very pretty formation, dome¬ 
shaped, with a pulsating spring in the top, are among the 
most interesting of the active springs. 

Liberty Cap is the cone of an extinct spring and stands 
thirty-eight feet high. Its base is elliptical-shaped, and the 
long and short diameters are 24 and 18 feet, respectively. 

Bath Lake is a warm pool of considerable size, much 
used for bathing. 

Scattered over the formation in every direction are 


266 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


caves, springs, steam-vents, peculiar deposits, and curiosi¬ 
ties without number to attract and detain the visitor. 
Many of them, like Cupid’s Cave, the Devil’s Kitchen, and 
McCartney’s Cave, are of much interest. In the last- 
mentioned cave, or, more properly, crater, an elk fell one 
winter when the crater was level full with light snow. His 
antlers caught between the sides of the crater, holding him 
in a suspended position until he perished. He was found 
the following spring by Mr. McCartney. In many of the 
caves there is an accumulation of carbonic acid gas in suffi¬ 
cient quantities to destroy animal life. The chief sufferers 
are the birds, which are killed by it in great numbers. The 
Stygian Cave at the extreme upper end of the active ter¬ 
races is the most noted in this respect. 

Besides the “ formation/’ as the terraces are collectively 
termed, there are many other features of interest within 
an easy ride or drive. 

Lookout (or Capitol ) Hill is a prominent rounded ele¬ 
vation opposite the hotel. Upon its summit is a block¬ 
house, built by Colonel Norris, in 1879, as a headquarters 
building for the Superintendent. The awkward and incon¬ 
venient location was selected for its defensive qualities. It 
will be remembered that the two previous years, 1877 and 
1878, had witnessed the Nez Perce and Bannock incursions 
into the Park. 

Around Bunsen Peak (12 miles). This is one of the 
most picturesque and beautiful drives in the Park. Leav¬ 
ing Mammoth Hot Springs the road leads first to the Glen 
Creek crossing, directly at the foot of Bunsen Peak, and 
then climbs the mountain side by a rather steep grade, 
with many windings that develop the scenery to advantage. 
Some of the views from this grade are particularly fine. 
After reaching the top of the hill a short drive brings the 
visitor to the 

Middle Gardiner Canyon and Osprey Falls. This canyon 
ranks next to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone as the 
most impressive in the Park, and Osprey Falls is one of the 





Haynes Photo St. Paul 


Golden Gate Viaduct 

(Built in 1900) 








267 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

largest cataracts. The canyon walls just below the falls are 
at least 500 feet high, and palisades of columnar basalt, 
extending along both sides, form a striking feature. The 
high bench at the brink of the canyon near the falls is 
covered with a beautiful evergreen forest open enough to 
permit the growth of grass, and forms a delightful resort 
for pleasure parties. 

From the falls the road extends like a rural lane through 
groves of evergreen and quaking aspen to the country 
south of Bunsen Peak, affording another fine view of the 
Gardiner Canyon, and opening out at length upon one of 
the genuinely beautiful mountain scenes of the Park. 
This is the Gallatin Range, as seen across the open country 
of Swan Lake Flat. The range is one of great prominence, 
and its higher peaks glisten with the snow that accumulates 
on their northern slopes in great depths every winter. 
Among the more noticeable peaks are Mt. Holmes, the 
Quadrant, Three Rivers, Trilobite, and The Dome. Far¬ 
ther to the north Electric Peak stands out in perfect out¬ 
line, the highest mountain in the Park, and one which the 
visitor will see from at least three other points in his tour. 
Sepulcher Mountain, with its broad grassy southern slope, 
seems very near; and Terrace Mountain closes in the 
gap between Sepulcher and Bunsen. The latter moun¬ 
tain stands out almost entirely alone, very regular in out¬ 
line, and an easy mountain climb for one of its alti¬ 
tude. 

Rounding the northern base of Bunsen Peak the road 
comes into the main tourist route just at the head of 
Golden Gate Canyon, through which Glen Creek finds its 
way between Terrace Mountain and Bunsen Peak. This 
canyon has always been considered one of the star features 
of the Park scenery. The view from either end looking 
through it is fine, and the local effects have been height¬ 
ened by the construction of the government road in the 
side of the cliff on the left bank of the stream. Among its 
more prominent features are Rustic Falls, at the head of 


268 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

the canyon, and the concrete Viaduct at the lower end, the 
only structure of its kind in the world. 

Descending the long hill on the return to Mammoth 
Hot Springs, the road leads through a very singular forma¬ 
tion of Travertine Rocks, absurdly labeled in local nomen¬ 
clature, the “ Hoodoos.” These rocks are a limestone 
formation of very weak texture and are scattered around 
in enormous bowlders, some of them a hundred feet 
through, and all lying in the most indiscriminate confusion. 
The lines of stratification show how these rocks have been 
tipped from their original horizontal position, but the dis¬ 
turbing cause has affected no two alike. It would seem 
that the original crust of which they were a part became 
undermined, and that their present chaotic condition is 
the result of its breaking up and caving in. 

Another interesting drive from Mammoth Hot Springs 
is that through the East Gardiner Canyon to the very pretty 
cascade. Undine Falls , at its head. Here, too, the road, 
winding along the mountain in difficult and dangerous sit¬ 
uations, is an important aid in developing the scenery. 
Either on this or the Bunsen Peak side trip, or by a special 
trip for the purpose, the buffalo corral may be visited. It 
contains numerous fine specimens of that most interesting 
animal and the opportunity is one not to be missed. 

It is through this canyon that access can most easily 
be had to the summit of Mt. Everts , whose bold escarpments 
rise in impressive grandeur directly across the valley from 
the road. The many vantage points along the crest of 
these cliffs afford some of the finest panoramic views in 
the Park. 


CHAPTER XV 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris Geyser Basin 

D ISTANCE, twenty miles. The first object of interest, 
besides those already described, after ascending the 
long hill above the Springs (four miles), is 

Swan Lake (5 miles), a little pond on the right of the 
road. 

A concrete pipe line here parallels the road for several 
miles, conveying water from Gardiner River for domestic 
and power supply at Mammoth Hot Springs. 

Willow Park (8 miles) comprises the valley of the lower 
course of Obsidian Creek. It is a dense growth of willows, 
and forms an attractive sight, either in the fresh foliage 
of spring or in its autumnal coloring. 

Apollinaris Spring (10 miles) is on the left of the road¬ 
way, in a pine forest. Tourists generally stop and try its 
water. 

Obsidian Cliff (12 miles) is composed of a kind of vol¬ 
canic glass, black as anthracite, which abounds at this 
point in enormous masses. The Indians once quarried 
implements of war and the chase here, and many fine 
arrowheads have been picked up by explorers. The build¬ 
ing of the first road along the base of this cliff has some 
historic celebrity, owing to the novel method adopted in 
clearing away the rock. Colonel Norris, the builder, broke 
the glassy material into fragments by heating it with fires 
and then dashing cold water upon it. 

Beaver Lake (12.5 miles) has its outlet opposite the 
base of Obsidian Cliff. It is formed by ancient beaver 


270 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


dams, now overgrown with vegetation. The old dam 
extends in a sinuous line entirely across the valley, and, 
although apparently less than a yard thick, is quite 
impervious to water. The lake is a great resort for water 
fowl later in the year. 

1Roaring Mountain (15.5 miles) is a high hill on the left 
of the road, with a powerful steam vent near the summit. 
For many years prior to 1902 the sound which gave rise 
to the name had almost disappeared. But in that year 
there was a wonderful development of thermal activity 
and the sound increased to such an extent that it could be 
heard at the distance of a mile. The increased heat killed 
the trees on the mountain side over the space of half a 
mile square. 

Twin Lakes (16 miles) are two exquisitely beautiful 
ponds, if only seen in a good sunlight and with a tranquil 
surface. The peculiar green of the water is perhaps to be 
seen nowhere except in this Park. It resembles the color¬ 
ing of the water in such quiescent springs as the Morning 
Glory, but it is not here due to hot water; for ice forms on 
these lakes in cold weather as quickly as upon any other 
waters of the Park. 

The Frying Pan (17.75 miles) is a small basin of gey- 
serite, on the right of the road, vigorously stewing away in 
a manner which reminds one of a kitchen skillet in opera¬ 
tion. 

After passing Obsidian Cliff evidences of hot spring 
action constantly increase, until they reach their climax in 
the Norris Geyser Basin. There are but few other places 
in the Park where the odor of sulphur is so general and 
offensive as on this portion of the tourist route. 

Norris Geyser Basin is clearly among the more recent 
volcanic developments of this region. Its rapid encroach¬ 
ment upon the forest growth, and the frequent appearance 
of new springs and the disappearance of others, indicate 
its relatively recent origin. Compared with the Firehole 
Geyser Basins it is of minor importance, so far as the 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


271 


magnitude of its phenomena is concerned; but coming 
first to the notice of the tourist it receives a large amount 
of attention. Its activity is evidently on the increase, but 
it shows less stability than the older geyser basins, and its 
principal features are undergoing constant change. For 
example, its only prominent geyser, the Monarch, became 
inactive in 1902, but whether permanently or temporarily 
is wholly a matter of conjecture. The wonderful steam 
vents known as the Growler and Hurricane have yielded 
their strength to a new vent, which holds the record for 
power over them both and rivals the one which has given 
Roaring Mountain its name. The mist that comes from 
these steam vents has killed the trees for a long distance 
around, and keeps the road constantly muddy in their 
vicinity. 

The Constant and Minute-Man, small geysers, make up 
in frequency of action what they lack in power. 

The road passes through the midst of this basin, in close 
proximity to some of the boiling springs, and does not get 
clear of the hot ground until it enters Ellc Parle, a mile 
and a half beyond Norris. There is a great profusion of 
names for these various features—such as Congress, 
Arsenic, Pearl, New Crater, Emerald Pool, Locomotive, 
etc., but their location and identity can be determined 
satisfactorily only by the aid of the sign-boards or a guide. 

From the Norris Basin a drive of three miles up the 
Gibbon River, on the cross road leading to the Grand 
Canyon, carries the tourist to Virginia Cascade, a pictur¬ 
esque waterfall in a rocky canyon of considerable beauty. 
This cascade is not a cataract, but a rocky slide on which 
the water glides down some sixty feet over the slippery 
surface of the rock. In fact, this characteristic prevails 
on the Gibbon River as far down as the head of the canyon, 
four miles below Norris, and the river slips over a smooth 
rocky floor a considerable part of the distance. 

Near the Virginia Cascade is quite a noted feature on 
the old road called the Devil's Elbow, an extremely sharp 


272 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


turn of nearly 180 degrees around a jutting point of rock. 
It was a constant menace to travel. In 1902 this old road 
was replaced by a new one cut in the rock of the cliff above, 
where it now forms one of the attractions between Norris 
and the Canyon. 

Near the eighth mile-post, where an old freight road 
branches off to the Canyon Hotel, is the site of the hold-up 
of 1897. At this point a few masked highwaymen stopped 
all the regular coaches of the day, including a government 
conveyance with an army officer and his family. No bodily 
injury was done anyone, but the pockets of the entire party 
were successfully emptied of all valuables. The exploit was 
a very clever piece of work. 


CHAPTER XVI 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


Norris Geyser Basin to Lower Geyser Basin 


D ISTANCE, twenty miles. The road follows the Gib¬ 
bon River to within four miles of its mouth, then 
crosses a point of land to the Firehole, and ascends the 
right bank of the latter stream to the Lower Basin. 

Gibbon Meadows (3.5 miles) is a broad open bottom, 
just at the head of Gibbon Canyon. 

The Gibbon Paint Pots (4 miles) are on the left of the 
road, near the head of the canyon, and one-fourth of a mile 
away. 

Monument Geyser Basin (4.5 miles) is on the high hill 
just west of the upper end of Gibbon Canyon. It is an 
interesting spot, but rarely visited owing to its inaccessi¬ 
bility. It was discovered and named by Colonel Norris. 

The Gibbon Canyon (4 to 10.5 miles) affords the tourist 
one of the pleasantest rides in the Park. The mountains 
rise boldly from the river on either side, and present sev¬ 
eral particularly fine views. The road lies close to the 
river’s edge, and the stream is an important adjunct to the 
scenery. 

Beryl Spring (5 miles) is close to the road on the side 
opposite the river. It boils violently and discharges a large 
amount of water. The steam from it frequently obscures 
the roadway. 

The Soda and Iron Spring (8 miles), like Apollinaris 
Spring already mentioned, is a frequent stopping place for 
tourists. 

Gibbon Falls (8.5 miles) is a waterfall of very irregular 
273 / 


274 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


outline, but withal one of much beauty. The road hangs 
on the side of the cliff far above it, and affords a lovely 
view of the forest-covered valley below. 

The West Entrance is 13.5 miles West of Madison Junc¬ 
tion at which point the entrance highway joins the Grand 
Loop Road of the Park. From West Yelloivstone, on the 
Union Pacific System at the West boundary, the highway 
traverses a beautifully wooded flat called Christmas Tree 
Park beyond which the Madison river valley narrows until 
its walls are quite precipitous. The highway winds through 
this beautiful canyon. Three miles from Madison Junction 
is Mount Haynes, and at the junction of the Gibbon and 
Firehole rivers, where the Washburn party camped in 1870 
at the time the “National Park Idea” was born, is National 
Park Mountain . 

From Madison Junction the highway follows up the 
valley of the Firehole river to Nez Perce Creek, six miles 
from the junction. 

Nez Perce Creek (18 miles) is the principal tributary 
of the Firehole, and is of historic interest from the fact 
that the route of Chief Joseph in 1877 was along its valley. 
Howard’s first camp in the Park, Camp Cowan, was 
situated about half a mile above the modern bridge, while 
five or six miles farther on are the sites of the council and 
the attack described in an earlier chapter. 

A drive of two miles from this stream takes the tourist 
to the Fountain Hotel. But since the closure of this hotel 
in 1017, traffic has passed on to the Upper Geyser Basin, 
and the Lower Basin is treated merely as a side trip. 

To attempt anything like a detailed description of the 
Firehole Geyser regions would be intolerable alike to 
reader and author. Of the objects of interest, any one of 
which in other localities would attract marked attention, 
there are several thousand. In the present description, 
therefore, only the more important features will be 
noticed—those notable objects to see which is an indis¬ 
pensable part of any well-ordered tour of the Park. 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


275 


The Fountain Geyser is a typical example of the first 
class of geysers described in a previous chapter. Its prox¬ 
imity to the hotel (one-fourth mile) used to cause it to 
be much visited. 

The Mammoth Paint Pots , a little way east of the Foun¬ 
tain, are probably the most prominent example of this 
class of phenomena in the Park. 

The Great Fountain Geyser lies a mile and a half south¬ 
east of the Fountain. It is the chief wonder of the Lower' 
Basin, and, in some respects, the most remarkable geyser 
in the Park. Its formation is quite unlike that of any 
other. At first sight the visitor is tempted to believe that 
someone has here placed a vast pedestal upon which to 
erect a monument. It is a broad, circular table about two 
feet high, composed entirely of hard siliceous deposit. In 
its surface are numerous pools molded and ornamented in 
a manner quite unapproachable, at least on so large a 
scale, in any other part of the Park. In the center of the 
pedestal, where the monument ought to stand, is a large 
irregular pool of great depth, full of hot water, forming, to 
all appearances, a lovely quiescent spring. At times of 
eruption, the contents of this spring are hurled bodily 
upward to a height sometimes reaching 100 feet. The tor¬ 
rent of water which follows the prodigious down-pouring 
upon the face of the pedestal, flows away in all directions 
over the white geyserite plain. No visitor to the Yellow¬ 
stone can afford to miss the Great Fountain Geyser. 

Surprise Pool, close to the Great Fountain, is always 
ready to disclose the reason for its name to anyone who 
will go to the trouble of throwing into it a handful of dirt 
or a spray' of evergreen. 

The Eggshell, on the left bank of a hot stream that 
flows a little south of the Great Fountain, is shaped like 
an egg set on end in the ground with the upper third of 
the shell broken off. It is an exquisite trifle. 

In a small valley, extending to the northeast from the 
Great Fountain, are several objects worthy of notice. One 


276 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


of these is an immense hot lake, by far the largest in the 
Park. Steady Geyser and Young Hopeful, near the head 
of the valley, are not remarkable in this land of geysers. 

The principal attraction of the locality is what has 
come to be called the Firehole. It is at the extreme upper 
end of the valley, difficult to find, and unsatisfactory to 
visit when the wind agitates the water surface. It is a 
large hot spring from the bottom of which, to all appear¬ 
ances, a light-colored flame is constantly issuing, only to 
be extinguished in the water before it reaches the surface. 
At times it has a distinct ruddy tinge, and it always flickers 
back and forth like the lambent flame of a torch. When 
seen under favorable conditions, the illusion is perfect, 
and the beholder is sure that he has at last caught a 
glimpse of the hidden fires which produce the weird 
phenomena of this region. But it is only illusion. 
Through a fissure in the rock superheated steam escapes 
and divides the water just as bubbles do on a smaller scale. 
The reflection from the surface thus formed accounts for 
the appearance, which is intensified by the black back¬ 
ground formed by the sides and bottom of the pool. 

About half a mile southwest of the Fountain Geyser, 
as elsewhere described, in an open grove on the banks of 
a little stream, is the spot where the Nez Perce Indians 
captured the Cowan party, August 24, 1877. 

The Lower Geyser Basin has an area of thirty square 
miles. Conspicuous among its topographical features are 
the Twin Buttes, two prominent peaks west of the river, 
which dominate the entire basin. 

There will be included in this chapter, as more properly 
belonging to it than to the next, a description of the Mid - 
way Geyser Basin. Its principal interest lies in the 
stupendous character of its phenomena. 

Excelsior Geyser, as a dynamic agent, has no equal in 
the Park. It is really a water volcano, and its eruptions 
have nothing of the characteristic display of a genuine 
geyser. Its crater is a vast seething caldron close by the 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


277 


brink of the Firehole River, into which, in non-eruptive 
periods even, it pours 4,000 gallons of water per minute. 
The shape of the crater is irregular. Its dimensions are 
about 330 by 200 feet, and 20 feet deep. It was not 
known to be a geyser until 1878, and did not really disclose 
its true character until the winter of 1881. During the 
remainder of that year and 1882, it gave continuous ex¬ 
hibitions of its power. Its water column was more than 
50 feet in diameter, and occasionally rose to the enormous 
height of 250 feet. At such times it doubled the volume 
of water in the Firehole River. Its eruptions were fre¬ 
quently accompanied by the ejection of large rocks. A sec¬ 
ond period of activity took place in 1888, since which time 
it has remained inactive. 

Prismatic Lake is the most perfect spring of its kind 
in the world. It rests on the summit of a self-built mound, 
sloping gently in all directions. Down this slope the over¬ 
flow from the spring descends in tiny rivulets, everywhere 
interlaced with one another. A map of the mound resem¬ 
bles a spider web, with the spider (the spring) in the 
center. The pool is 250 by 300 feet in size. Over the lake 
hangs an ever-present cloud of steam, which itself often 
bears a crimson tinge, reflected from the waters below. 
The steam unfortunately obscures the surface of the lake, 
and one involuntarily wishes for a row-boat, in which to 
explore its unseen portions. Wherever visible, there is a 
varied and wonderful play of colors, which fully justifies 
the name. 

Turquoise Spring is another large pool, 100 feet in 
diameter, and rivals Prismatic Lake in the beauty of its 
coloring. 

The Midway Geyser Basin contains hundreds of other 
springs, some of them very beautiful, but the Basin is 
mainly noted for the three features just described. 


CHAPTER XVII 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Lower Geyser Basin to Upper Geyser Basin 

D ISTANCE, nine miles. The road follows the Fire- 
hole River. Midway Geyser Basin, already described, 
is passed four miles out. No other object of interest is 
met until the visitor actually arrives at the Upper Basin. 

This locality is probably the most popular with the tourist 
of any in the Park. Its two rivals, the Grand Canyon 
and the Yellowstone Lake, are so unlike it as not to admit 
of any comparison. It is the home of the genus geyser, as 
seen in its highest development. There are fifteen examples 
of the first magnitude and scores of less important ones.* 
The quiescent pools and springs are also numerous and of 
great beauty. 

The first important feature en route is the Biscuit Basin, 
which is reached by a side road leading to the west bank of 
the Firehole River. It contains a geyser and several beauti¬ 
ful springs. The most interesting are the Jewell Geyser 
and the Sapphire Pool. Near this locality is the Mystic 
Falls, a fine cascade, on the Little Firehole River. 

Artemisia Geyser comes next to the attention of the 
tourist. It has been known as a geyser only since 1886. 
It is on the right of the roadway, at a considerably lower 
level. 

The Morning Glory is a little further upstream. In 
this beautiful object the quiescent pool is at its best. Its 


* For list of names of geysers, with heights of eruptions, see 
p. 343. 


278 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


279 


exquisite bordering and the deep cerulean hue of its trans¬ 
parent waters make it, and others like it, objects of ceaseless 
admiration. 

The Fan Geyser is close by the Firehole on the east bank, 
not far above the Morning Glory. The Riverside is also 
on the east bank at the point where the road crosses the 
river. It is an inconspicuous object when not in eruption, 
and one would scarcely suspect it of being a geyser. It 
spouts obliquely across the river and not, like most geysers, 
vertically. 

Next in order after crossing the river to the west bank, 
is the Grotto, remarkable for its irregular and cavernous 
crater. A little further on, close to the river, stands the 
broken crater of one of the Park’s greatest geysers, the 
Giant. Lieutenant Doane compared its crater to a “ huge 
shattered horn.” 

A few hundred feet further upstream, still close to the 
river, is the Oblong. Directly across the road, but a short 
distance away, is the Splendid, well worthy of its name; 
and near it, sometimes playing simultaneously, is the 
Comet. 

To the westward from the Firehole, nearly on the divide 
between it and Iron Creek, is a lovely spring, called the 
Punch Bowl. Across the divide in the Iron Creek Valley 
is the Black Sand Basin, a unique but beautiful pool. 
Near it is another attraction, Specimen Lake, so named 
from an abundance of specimens of partly petrified wood. 
The limit of curiosities in this direction is Emerald Pool, 
which competent judges pronounce to be the finest quiescent 
spring in the Park. 

Returning to the Firehole by a different route, we pass 
a large spring or geyser known as the Three Crater Spring. 
Its three craters are connected by narrow waterways, 
making one continuous pool, though fed from three 
sources. 

A thousand feet to the north stands the most imposing 
crater in the Park, that of the Castle Geyser. It is fre- 


280 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


quently seen in moderate eruption, but rarely when doing 
its best. As ordinarily seen, it throws a column of water 
only 50 or 60 feet, but at times it plays as high as 150 
or 200 feet. 

Crossing the river to its right bank, nearly opposite the 
Castle, there are found within a narrow compass three 
noted geysers, the Sawmill, Turban, and Grand. Of these 
the last is by far the finest and ranks among the very 
greatest geysers in the world. It was not seen by the 
Washburn Party, in 1870, but it seems to have been the 
first geyser to welcome to the Upper Basin the Hayden 
and Barlow parties in 1871. Captain Barlow says of its 
eruption: * 

“ This grand fountain continued to play for several 
minutes. When dying down, I approached to obtain a 
closer view of the aperture whence had issued such a 
powerful stream. A sudden gush of steam drove me away, 
following which the water was again impelled upward and 
upward, far above the steam, till it seemed to have lost 
the controlling force of gravity, and that it would never 
cease to rise. The roar was like the sound of a tornado, 
but there was no apparent effort; a steady stream, very 
graceful and perfectly vertical, except as a slight breeze 
may have waved it to and fro. Strong and smooth, it 
continued to ascend like the stream from a powerful steam 
fire-engine. We were all lost in astonishment at the sudden 
and marvelous spectacle. The proportions of the fountain 
were perfect. The enthusiasm of the party was manifested 
in shouts of delight. Under the excitement of the mo¬ 
ment, it was estimated to be from three to five hundred 
feet in height.” 

Further up the river on the same side and at some dis¬ 
tance back, are the Lion, Lioness, and the two Cubs, an in¬ 
teresting group, including one notable geyser. Halfway 
up a high mound of geyserite which covers a large area on 


* Page 25, “ Reconnaissance of the Yellowstone River.” 








Haynes Photo St. Paul 


Beehive Geyser 









A TOUR OF THE PARK 


281 


the north side of the river is an exquisitely beautiful for¬ 
mation called, from its appearance, the Sponge. 

On top of the mound is another of the great geysers, 
thought by the Washburn Party to be the greatest in the 
world, the Giantess. It belongs to the class of fountain 
geysers, and when not in action strongly resembles a quies¬ 
cent spring. Its eruptions are infrequent and irregular, 
but when it does play it is a sight not to be forgotten. Mr. 
Langford thus describes the first eruption known to have 
been seen by white men: * 

“ We were standing on the side of the geyser nearest the 
sun, the gleams of which filled the sparkling columns of 
water and spray with myriad rainbows, whose arches are 
constantly changing—dipping and fluttering hither and 
thither, and disappearing only to be succeeded by others, 
again and again, amid the aqueous column, while the mi¬ 
nute globules, into which the spent jets were diffused when 
falling, sparkled like a shower of diamonds, and around 
every shadow which the denser clouds of vapor, interrupt¬ 
ing the sun’s rays, cast upon the column, could be seen a 
luminous circle, radiant with all the colors of the prism, 
and resembling the halo of glory represented in paintings 
as encircling the head of Divinity. All that we had pre¬ 
viously witnessed seemed tame in comparison with the per¬ 
fect grandeur and beauty of this display.” 

Between the Giantess and the river is the Bee Hive, also 
one of the most prominent geysers. The symmetry of its 
cone is only surpassed by the regularity of its water 
column. From an artistic point of view it is the most 
perfect geyser in the Park. Its slender jet attains a great 
height and is vertical and symmetrical throughout. 

Crossing again to the west bank of the stream and 
ascending to the very head of the basin, we come to the 
last and most important of the geysers, Old Faithful. 
Any other geyser, any five other geysers, could be erased 


* “ The Wonders of the Yellowstone . 3 



£82 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


from the list better than part with Old Faithful. The 
Giant, Giantess, Grand, Splendid, and Excelsior, have 
more powerful eruptions. The Bee Hive is more artistic. 
The Great Fountain has a more wonderful formation. 
But Old Faithful partakes in a high degree of all these 
characteristics, and, in addition, has the invaluable quality 
of uniform periodicity of action. It is, in fact, the most 
perfect of all known geysers. 

To it fell the honor of welcoming civilized man to this 
region. It was the first geyser named. It stands at the 
head of the basin and has been happily called “ The Guar¬ 
dian of the Valley.” 

It is located in the center of an oblong mound, 145 by 
215 feet at the base, 20 by 54 feet at the summit, and about 
12 feet high. The tube, which seems to have originated 
in a fissure in the rock, has an inside measurement of 2 by 
6 feet. 

The ornamentation about the crater, though limited 
in extent, is nowhere surpassed for beauty of form and 
color. In particular, the three small pools on the north 
side of the crater, and very close to it, are specimens of 
the most remarkable handiwork which Nature has lavished 
upon this region. A singular fact is that the waters in 
these three pools, although so close together as apparently 
to be subject to the same conditions, are of different colors. 
Speaking of these marvelous appearances, Lieutenant 
Doane says: * 

“ One instinctively touches the hot ledges with his hands, 
and sounds with a stick the depths of the cavities in the 
slope, in utter doubt of the evidence of his own eyes. . . . 
It is the most lovely inanimate object in existence.” 

In its eruption this geyser is equally fascinating. It 
gives ample warning, and visitors have time to station 
themselves where the view will be most perfect. The 
graceful column rises, at first with apparent effort, but 


* Page 29, “ Yellowstone Expedition of 1870.” 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


283 


later with evident ease, to a height of 150 feet. The noise 
is simply that of a jet of water from an ordinary hose, 
only in intensity corresponding to the greater flow. The 
steam, when carried laterally by a gentle breeze, unfurls 
itself like an enormous flag from its watery standard. The 
water is of crystal clearness, and the myriad drops float 
in the air with all manner of brilliant effects. To quote 
Lieutenant Doane again: 

“ Rainbows play around the tremendous fountain, the 
waters of which fall about the basin in showers of bril¬ 
liants, and then rush steaming down the slopes to the 
river.” 

The uniform periodicity of this geyser is its most won¬ 
derful and most useful characteristic. It never fails the 
tourist. With an average interval of sixty-five minutes, 
it varies but little either way. The combination of con¬ 
ditions by which the supply of heat and water, and the 
form of tube, are so perfectly adapted to their work, that 
even a chronometer is scarcely more regular in its action, 
is one of the miracles of nature. Night and day, winter 
and summer, seen or unseen, this “ tremendous fountain ” 
has been playing for untold ages. Only in thousands of 
years can its lifetime be reckoned; for the visible work it 
has wrought, and its present infinitely slow rate of progress, 
fairly appall the inquirer who seeks to learn its real age. 

To the natural attractions of this section of the Park 
there must now be added one of man’s handiwork—the Old 
Faithful Inn , referred to on another page of this work. 

Old Faithful Camp is just beyond Old Faithful Geyser. 
The large permanent camps are situated iat Mammoth Hot 
Springs, Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, Grand Canyon 
and near Tower Fall. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Upper Geyser Basin to Yellowstone Lake Hotel 

D ISTANCE to Thumb, nineteen miles; Thumb to 
Lake Hotel, sixteen miles. 

Upper Basin to Thumb 

The route ascends the valley of the Firehole River 
to the mouth of Spring Creek, which stream it fol¬ 
lows to the Continental Divide. For seven miles it then 
lies on the Pacific slope, after which it descends the moun¬ 
tains to the Yellowstone Lake. The drive is one of the 
most pleasant in the Park, the scenery picturesque and 
wild, and quite different from that passed through thus 
far. 

Kepler Cascade (1.25 miles) is a fascinating waterfall. 
Lieutenant Doane, who first wrote of it, says: * 

“ These pretty little falls, if located on an eastern stream, 
would be celebrated in history and song; here, amid ob¬ 
jects so grand as to strain conception and stagger belief, 
they were passed without a halt.” 

Half a mile up the Firehole, above the mouth of Spring 
Creek, is the Lone Star Geyser (4 miles). This geyser 
is conspicuous chiefly for its fine cone. It plays frequently 
to a height of 40 or 50 feet. 

Madison Lake, ten miles further up the valley, is the 
ultimate source of the Madison River. This body of water, 

* Page 27, " Yellowstone Expedition of 1870.” 

284 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


285 


with the exception of Red Rock Lake, the source of the 
Jefferson, is further from the sea by direct water course 
than any other lake on the globe. 

Returning down the Firehole, we enter the mouth of 
Spring Creek Canyon (3.5 miles), which the road ascends 
for a distance of three miles. This is one of the prettiest 
drives in the Park. The canyon is narrow and wind¬ 
ing, hemmed in by fantastic rocks and dark, evergreen 
forests, and traversed by a crystal mountain stream 
whose banks are thickly lined with willow and other 
shrubbery. 

At a point about halfway between the 4th and 5th mile¬ 
posts from Old Faithful occurred the Hold up of 1908, in 
which the passengers of sixteen vehicles were successfully 
held up by one man. 

The first crossing of the Continental Divide (8.5 miles) 
is through a narrow, rocky gorge, overhung by precipi¬ 
tous cliffs, inclosing a lily-covered pond which rests 
squarely on the doubtful ground between the two oceans. 
Craig Pass and Isa Lake are the names that have been 
used to designate these two features. Precise elevations 
were determined in 1923 by the United States Coast and 
Geodetic Survey under the direction of Edward P. Morton. 
At the Continental Divide the elevation is 8,261 feet. 

Corkscrew Hill (9 miles) is a name originating with the 
stage drivers, and refers to a very winding stretch of side 
hill road* about a mile long, leading down from the 
Divide to the valley of DeLacy Creek. 

Shoshone Point (10.5 miles) is in the center of the 
large amphitheater-shaped tract which is drained by the 
branches of DeLacy Creek. It overlooks Shoshone Lake 
and the broad basin surrounding it, and gives a splendid 


* “ So crooked that you pass one place three times before you 
get by it, and then meet yourself on the road coming back.”— 
Truthful Lies. 



286 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


view of the Teton Mountains. In this immediate vicinity, 
July 29, 1914, two masked men held up a procession of 
vehicles and relieved the occupants of money and other 
valuables. 

Shoshone Lake is a beautiful sheet of water when seen 
from near by. It has an area of twelve square miles and 
a most picturesque shore line. On its west shore is a 
geyser basin, second in importance only to those on the 
Firehole. Among its many interesting features may be 
mentioned the Union Geyser, of which the middle crater 
plays to a height of 100 feet; and the Bronze Geyser, very 
striking because of the perfect metallic luster of its 
formation. 

From Shoshone Point, the road again ascends to the 
Continental Divide, and then drops down the Atlantic slope 
towards the Yellowstone Valley. 

Lake View (18 miles) is at a point where a sudden 
turn in the forest road brings the tourist, quite without 
warning, in full view of one of the most striking water 
landscapes in the world. The whole vista of the Yellow¬ 
stone Lake is spread out before him, still 200 feet below 
where he is standing. Far to the right and left, along 
the distant eastern shore, extends the Absaroka Range of 
mountains, many of its summits still capped with snow. 
Everywhere the dark pine forests come down to the water’s 
edge, in fine contrast with the silver surface of the lake. 
The sparkling of the waves, the passage of the cloud shad¬ 
ows, and the tranquil mirror of the waters where sheltered 
from the wind, all combine to make the picture one to be 
long remembered. 

Dropping down from Lake View we pass, a little further 
on. Duck Lake, a snug little pond of genuine beauty, 
ensconced in the dense forest scarcely half a mile distant 
from the shore of the larger lake. A short drive now 
brings the traveler to the noon lunch station at The 
Thumb (19 miles), the westernmost part of the Yellow¬ 
stone Lake. 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


287 


This wonderful Lake is about 7,741 feet, nearly a mile 
and a half, above the level of the sea. It has a shore line 
of 100 miles, and an area of 139 square miles. Its max¬ 
imum depth is 300 feet. It is fed almost entirely from 
the springs and snow drifts of the Absaroka Range. Its 
waters are cold, clear, and transparent to great depths, and 
literally swarm with trout. It is subject to heavy south¬ 
west winds, and at times is lashed into tempestuous 
seas. 

The shape of the lake was compared by the early explor¬ 
ers to the form of the human hand. The resemblance is 
exceedingly remote, and one writer has well observed that 
only the hand of a baseball player who has stood for years 
behind the bat could justify the comparison. The “ fin¬ 
gers ” have now been generally dropped from the maps and 
replaced by the usual names; but “ Thumb ” seems to have 
become a fixture. 

Surpassing the Yellowstone both in area and altitude 
there are but few lakes in the world. Lake Titicaca, in 
Peru, and one or two others in the less explored regions 
of the Andes, and also a few lakes on the lofty tableland 
of Thibet, comprise the number. 

Yellowstone Lake has been a theme of enthusiastic 
praise by all who have ever seen it, and no encomium that 
it would be possible to pronounce would overrate its 
merits. One has but to witness a summer sunrise or sun¬ 
set in these magnificent surroundings to understand this. 
It is said that Lake Maggiore of Italy bears the closest 
resemblance to it of any well-known lake, but even it 
does not appeal to the imagination like these mountains 
and forests and resplendent waters, resting here in perfect 
harmony on the very summit of the continent. Standing 
on its shore in the long hours of a summer twilight, and 
looking out upon the tinted waters in which are imaged the 
sun-gilded mountain tops and the crimson halo of a western 
sky, one can well understand the thrill of inspiration be¬ 
hind these exquisite words of Mr. Folsom—his parting 


288 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


address to the lake in 1869, as he turned from its western 
shore into the deep forests that surround it: * 

“ As we were about departing on our homeward journey, 
we ascended the summit of a neighboring hill to get a 
final view of Yellowstone Lake. Nestled among the forest- 
crowned hills which bounded our vision, lay this inland 
sea, its crystal waves dancing and sparkling in the sun¬ 
light as if laughing with joy for their wild freedom. It 
is a scene of transcendent beauty which has been viewed 
by but few white men, and we felt glad to have looked 
upon it before its primeval solitude should be broken by 
the crowds of pleasure seekers which at no distant day will 
throng its shores.” 

The storms on the lake are sometimes severe, and the 
southwest winds stir up a heavy sea nearly every day 
during the summer season. There is, however, nothing 
of a cyclonic character about them. A thunder shower 
on the lake in 1885 proved fatal to a member of a govern¬ 
ment surveying party who were out in a boat near the 
northeast corner of the lake. It was a combination sail 
and row boat, and the lightning struck the mast, instantly 
killing an oarsman who was sitting near it. The circum¬ 
stances attending this unfortunate accident were very 
peculiar, and a deal of romantic lore has grown up around 
it. One singular feature was the fact that there was ap¬ 
parently no rain, and only a single clap of thunder—a 
veritable bolt from a clear sky. The party was under Mr. 
John R. Renshaw, United States Geological Survey, who 
was himself rendered insensible for a time by the shock. 

A most singular and interesting acoustic phenomenon 
of this region, although rarely noticed by tourists, is the 
occurrence of strange and indefinable overhead sounds. 
They have long been noted by explorers, but only in the 
vicinity of Shoshone and Yellowstone Lakes. They seem 


* Page 20, Langford’s reprint of the “ Valley of the Upper 
Yellowstone.” 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


289 


to occur in the morning, and to last only for a moment. 
They have an apparent motion through the air, the general 
direction noted by writers being from north to south. They 
resemble the ringing of telegraph wires or the humming of 
a swarm of bees, beginning softly in the distance, growing 
rapidly plainer until directly overhead, and then fading as 
rapidly in the opposite direction. Although this phenom¬ 
enon has been made the subject of scientific study, no 
rational explanation of it has ever been advanced. Its 
weird character is in keeping with its strange surroundings. 
In other lands and times it would have been an object of 
superstitious reverence or dread, and would have found a 
permanent place in the traditions of the people. 

The west shore of the lake is an important center of 
thermal activity. The principal features are the Paint 
Pots, not inferior to those near the Fountain Hotel; two 
of the largest and most beautiful quiescent springs in the 
Park; the Lake Shore Geyser, which plays frequently to a 
height of about 30 feet; an unnamed geyser of consider¬ 
able power but of infrequent action; and the celebrated 
Fishing Cone, where unfortunate trout find catching and 
cooking unpleasantly near together. 

At the Thumb Station the Southern Approach comes in 
from the famous Jackson Hole and Lake, and from the 
Teton Mountains, all of which lie well south of the Park. 
The distance to the outlet of Jackson Lake, immediately 
opposite the Grand Teton, is forty-five miles. From 
Jackson Hole there is a government road leading into the 
Wind River Valley and Central Wyoming, and another road 
leading across Teton Pass into Idaho. 

From the time when it first became well known to the 
fur traders before 1830, the Valley of Jackson Hole has 
been considered one of the most beautiful mountain valleys 
in the world. A striking feature is its extremely flat topog¬ 
raphy in certain portions, surrounded as it is by some of the 
most rugged mountains on the continent. Its beauty is 
greatly enhanced by the presence of several lakes, which lie 


290 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

immediately at the base of the Teton Range, and in whose 
placid surface these mountains stand reflected as from the 
most perfect mirror. The landscape thus formed has been 
the despair of painters of natural scenery since the valley 
became frequented by students of nature. Neither pen 
nor pencil, nor the modern perfection of the photographic 
art, can reproduce its marvelous beauty. 

The Teton Mountains, which the tourist sees from 
different points on the park road system, here stand forth 
in their full grandeur in his immediate presence. It is 
the most striking range in the entire Rocky Mountain 
region. The French trappers gave the name Les Trois 
Tetons (Three Tetons), because from certain points of 
view three peaks stood out prominently above all the others. 
The altitude of the Grand Teton is 13,691 feet, being the 
highest in the Central Rocky Mountain region north of 
Colorado, unless it be Fremont Peak, in the Wind River 
Mountains, which is of almost exactly the same altitude. 
It is not alone its great altitude that has made the Grand 
Teton so famous in frontier history. The topography of 
the surrounding country is such that its summit is visible 
at a great distance in almost every direction, while its 
appearance from wherever seen is striking and unmis¬ 
takable. From Union Pass, for example, sixty miles east, 
it looks like a slender spire of pure outline piercing the 
sky, in appearance so remarkable that the beholder is forced 
to question whether it can really pertain to any mountain. 
It was the great prominence of this peak and its ease of 
identification from other mountains, that made it so useful 
to the early travelers. Far and wide it was the beacon 
of the trapper. Familiar with its different aspects as seen 
from different directions, he could tell his position at once 
when his eyes fell upon it. 

To the visitor in the Park, whether he goes to Jackson 
Hole or not, this mountain becomes a familiar sight, and 
one that never fails to appeal to his sense of natural beauty. 
It is prominently visible from the following points on the 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


291 


road system: Shoshone Point, Yellowstone Lake, several 
points on the East Road, and on nearly the entire por¬ 
tion of the road leading up the southern slope of Mt. 
Washburn.* 

The only objects of particular interest on the southern 
approach in going from Yellowstone Lake to Jackson Hole, 
are Lewis Lake, the Falls of Lewis River, just below the 
lake, and Moose Falls, on Crawfish Creek. 

From the west shore of Yellowstone Lake a visit can 
be advantageously made to Heart Lake and Mount Sheri¬ 
dan. This lake has been pronounced the prettiest in the 
Park. Near it on the tributary Witch Creek, is a small but 
important geyser basin. The principal features are the 
Deluge, Spike, and Rustic Geysers, and the Fissure Group 
of springs. The Rustic Geyser is remarkable in having 
about it a cordon of logs, evidently placed there by the 
Indians or white men many years ago. The logs are com¬ 
pletely incrusted with the deposits of the springs. 

Mt. Sheridan would rank with Mt. Washburn as a popu¬ 
lar peak for mountain climbers were it only more accessi¬ 
ble. No summit in the Park affords a finer prospect. 

Thumb to Lake Hotel 

The South Entrance highway joins the Grand Loop 
road at the West Thumb, which is 23.6 miles North of 
the South boundary of the Park. At West Thumb is a 
National Park Service Ranger Station and a general store 
operated by C. A. Hamilton who has stores also at Old 
Faithful and Lake Outlet. 


♦The Grand Teton is one of the most difficult mountains to 
climb of which there is any knowledge. To the present time 
(1903) it has been ascended only four times; by Messrs. N. 
P. Langford and James Stevenson in 1872, by Messrs. William 
Owen, Frank S. Spalding, John Shive and Frank Peterson in 
1898 and twice in 1923. These explorers found, on a point a 
little lower than the main summit, a rude shelter of granite 
slabs, evidently placed there by human hands, one can only 
conjecture how long ago. 



292 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

The Fishing Cone, one of the principal thermal attrac¬ 
tions near the West Thumb, is well worth seeing. 

There are comparatively few attractions on the road 
from the Thumb to the Lake Hotel and only the following 
need be noticed. Between the first and second mile posts 
the road passes over a remarkable beach formed by wave 
action, behind which is a considerable body of water fed 
almost entirely from hot springs. The deposit from these 
springs originally lined the overflow channels through the 
beach, building them up gradually and raising the level of 
the pond behind them. When the road was built these 
natural outlets were replaced by culverts. 

Between the second and third mile posts the road passes 
over a high bluff, probably a hundred feet above the lake, 
affording an attractive outlook. 

At about the fourth mile post the road leaves the Thumb 
and plunges into the forest on a nearly direct line across the 
peninsula which separates the Thumb from the main body 
of the lake. This involves the crossing of a high ridge and 
a somewhat tedious climb of two miles. Near the summit 
of the hill is a fine view of the Thumb, and of the Teton 
Mountains far beyond. From the divide the road descends 
the northern declivity to the lake, passing en route a rather 
attractive feature, the Natural Bridge (12 miles). This 
consists of an arch about forty feet in height and thirty 
feet in span. As seen from the road, it is of very sym¬ 
metrical outline. 

The last three miles of this drive is along the shore of 
the lake and terminates at the Lake Hotel (16 miles) sit¬ 
uated about two miles above the lake outlet. 

Fishing is good all along the shores of Yellowstone lake 
and in the tributary streams. The noted Fishing Bridge 
near the Lake Junction at the lake outlet is the scene of 
many catches daily during the tourist season. No fishing 
license is required in the Park, but a limit is placed on 
the number that may be caught in one day. 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


293 


At the outlet, boats may be obtained for fishing, and ex¬ 
ploring. Occasionally excursions are made to the South 
Arm. From near the center of the lake the view is surpass¬ 
ingly fine. To the south and southwest the long arms of the 
lake penetrate the dark forest-clad hills, which are but step¬ 
ping stones to the lofty mountains behind them. Far beyond 
these may again be seen the familiar forms of the Tetons. 
All along the eastern shore stand the serried peaks of the 
Absaroka Range, the boundary which nature has so well 
established along the eastern border of the Park. A notable 
feature of this range is the profile of a human face formed 
by the superimposed contours of two mountain peaks, 
one some distance behind the other. The best effect is had 
from points between Stevenson Island and the Lake Hotel. 
The face is looking directly upward. A similar profile, 
noted by the early explorers from the summit of Mt. 
Washburn, and nearly in the same locality as this, although 
of course not the same feature, was called by them the 
“ Giant’s Face,” or the “ Old Man of the Mountain.” 

The Lake Hotel is situated about a mile southwest of 
the outlet in an open grove back a few hundred feet from 
the shore. It is the most important point in the Park busi¬ 
ness except Mammoth Hot Springs. The headquarters of 
the boat management is here, as are also a branch station 
of the Weather Bureau, a patrol station for the rangers 
and the Lake Camp of the Yellowstone Park Camps Com¬ 
pany. A mile and a half distant is Lake Junction. 

Eastern Approach. This road is throughout its length 
one of exceptional scenic attraction, and will always be of 
great interest to travelers. It crosses the Yellowstone 
River just below the lake outlet, and then follows the shore 
of the lake for about four miles. It touches Indian Pond 
(3 miles), a pretty sheet of water near the lake, from 
the shore of which a splendid view can be had of the Teton 
Mountains and of Mt. Sheridan. The next attraction is 
Turbid Lake (5 miles), a circular shaped body of water, 
half a mile in diameter. The bottom of this lake is honey- 


294 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 

combed with steam vents which stir up the mud and keep 
the water in a roily, turbid condition. There are several 
hot springs in this vicinity, the thermal basin extending 
to the shore of the Lake, where there is an important feature 
called Steamboat Spring. 

Further on is a fine example of “ wedded trees ;” and 
another of the numerous “ apollinaris ” springs. Every¬ 
where the trails of elk may be seen, spreading like a net¬ 
work over the mountain side, for this is a great summer 
grazing ground for these animals. 

The road, as it winds along the hillsides to secure easy 
grades and bring out the scenery, affords several magnifi¬ 
cent views of the lake and of the mountains beyond. 

Sylvan Lake , near the source of Clear Creek, is one of 
the beauties of the Park. It is not a large body of water, 
but its irregular shore line, its fringe of dark evergreen 
trees and the lofty mountains that overhang it, make up 
a picture which appeals to the artistic instincts of the 
visitor. 

Sylvan Pass (22 miles) takes its name from the lake, 
for there is nothing of a sylvan character in the pass it¬ 
self. On the contrary it presents a scene entirely unique 
among mountain passes. It is like a vast trough, the sides 
of which are composed of loose rock that has fallen down 
from the lofty cliffs above, and now rests on its natural 
slope, forming a treacherous foothold even for the wild 
animals of the mountains. The great natural obstacles in 
crossing it have always prevented it from being much 
used, either by wild game or the Indians, and it was not 
until after extensive exploration that the government engi¬ 
neers finally selected it for the line of the Eastern Ap¬ 
proach across the Absaroka Divide. Two considerations 
at length prevailed over the enormous difficulties of the 
work—the fact that the pass was nearly 1,000 feet lower 
than any other available, and the unique and unusual char¬ 
acter of the scenery. 

At the very summit of the pass a rippling waterfall 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


295 


comes down from the cliffs on the south, and flows into 
a little pond of great clearness and depth. Owing to the 
loose texture of the rock-filled ravine, a large part of the 
water that enters this pond flows away by subterranean 
passages, and it is full to overflowing only during the 
spring high water. By the end of the tourist season it 
falls nearly ten feet. To this pond the name Lake Eleanor 
has been given. 

The pass is flanked by lofty mountains— Avalanche Peak 
and Mount Hoyt on the north, and Grizzly and Top Notch 
Peaks on the south. They rise directly from the pass to 
heights of from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above it. 

Descending from the pass by a steep grade, the road 
arrives, in about a mile, at a crystal fountain which is 
probably the largest cold water spring in the Park. It 
gives egress to the waters which flow out of Sylvan Pass 
through the loose rock. This spring is on the immediate 
borders of Middle Creek (23 miles), the left shore of 
which the road follows to its outlet. The valley of this 
stream presents some of the most rugged topography in 
the mountains, and the construction of the road through it 
was a work of great difficulty.* Wild torrents are every¬ 
where rushing down the mountain sides. Frequent laby¬ 
rinths of fallen trees and rocks show where avalanches and 
landslides have swept everything before them. Wherever 
the forests open so as to give a view outside, the lofty 
crests of the neighboring mountains are seen, in far greater 
apparent altitude than when viewed from a distance in 
the open country. 

Soon after crossing the east boundary (30 miles), the 
road arrives at Shoshone River (32 miles), which it crosses 
just above the mouth of Middle Creek. It follows the 


* When this road was first cut through it was very narrow and 
no turnouts had been provided. A facetious traveler who passed 
over it at this time remarked that it was great for scenery, but 
that, if one happened to meet a wagon there, he would have 
to back up eight miles. 



296 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


immediate shore of this stream all the rest of the way 
through the forest reserve. Along this portion of the 
road the scenery is grand and inspiring. The mountains 
are far more rugged and wild than in the Park, and aver¬ 
age about 2,000 feet higher. Strange and fantastic forms, 
like the “ Hoodoos ” east of the Park, abound. The river 
itself is a beautiful stream, but wild and unmanageable in 
the season of floods. Its shores are lined with attractive 
verdure in the form of cottonwood, quaking aspen, and 
willow. 

The East Entrance is reached by a highway from Cody, 
Wyoming, on the Burlington system, 55.2 miles east of 
the Park boundary. 

From the eastern approach where it passes Lake Butte 
an important trail extends south to the head of the Lake 
and to the valley of the Upper Yellowstone. The scenery 
in this part of the reservation is on a magnificent scale, 
but the chief attraction of the region immediately south of 
the boundary is its abundance of big game. The Upper 
Yellowstone Valley has become, as elsewhere noted, a 
prolific habitat of moose. From this valley to that of 
Jackson Hole elk abound in great multitudes. 

Bridger Lake, named for the celebrated pioneer to whom 
we have devoted a chapter of this book, lies just south of 
the Park boundary, a little to the east of the river. 

Some twenty miles above the head of the lake is the 
celebrated Two-Ocean Pass, long known to the early trap¬ 
pers. It is probably the most remarkable example of such 
a phenomenon in the world. Although the fact of its ex¬ 
istence was asserted and stoutly maintained by Bridger for 
many years prior to the discovery of the Park region, it 
was generally disbelieved until Captain Jones crossed the 
pass in 1873. It has since been visited and described by 
Hayden in 1878, by Hague in 1884, and by Professor 
Evermann of the United States Fish Commission in 1891. 
The following facts are taken from Professor Evermann’s 
report: 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


297 


The pass is in a nearly level grassy park hemmed in 
by the surrounding hills, and is 8,150 feet above the level 
of the sea. Its extreme length is about one mile and its 
extreme breadth about three-fourths of a mile. From the 
north a stream issues from a canyon and divides, part 
flowing to Atlantic Creek and part to Pacific Creek. A 
similar stream, with a similar division, comes from the 
south. At extreme low water, these divisions may possibly 
disappear and all the water flow either one way or the other. 
But at ordinary and high stages the water flows both ways, 
forming a continuous water connection between the At¬ 
lantic and Pacific Oceans over a distance of nearly 6,000 
miles. 

These streams are by no means insignificant rivulets, 
but substantial water-courses capable of affording passage 
to fish of considerable size. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Yellowstone Lake to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone 

D ISTANCE, sixteen miles. The road follows the 
Yellowstone River along the west bank all the way. 
In front of the Lake Camp is a small monument East of 
the highway. It was placed there, in 1893, by the United 
States Corps of Engineers to mark a position accurately 
determined from astronomical observations by the United 
States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1892. It is of value 
as a point of reference in surveys and other similar work.* 
Mud Volcano (7.5 miles) is a weird, uncanny object, 
but, nevertheless, a very fascinating feature, and one which 
the tourist should stop and examine. It is an immense 
funnel-shaped crater in the side of a considerable hill on 
the west bank of the river. The mud rises some distance 
above a large steam vent in the side of the crater next 
the hill, and chokes the vent until the steam has accumu¬ 
lated in sufficient force to lift the superincumbent mass. 
As the imprisoned steam bursts forth it hurls the mud 
with great violence against the opposite side of the crater* 
making a heavy thud which is audible for half a mile. 
These outbursts take place every few seconds. 

A striking example of the strange commingling 
of dissimilar features is found in the Dragons Mouth, 
a spring of perfectly clear water, not far from the 


* Latitude, 40° 33' 16.1" north. 
Longitude, 110° 23' 43.1" west. 
Magnetic variation about 19" east. 

298 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


299 


Mud Volcano. It is acted upon by the steam in a manner 
precisely similar to that of the Mud Volcano, but its 
waters issue directly from the rock, and are entirely clear. 
Mud Geyser, now rarely seen in action, was an important 
geyser twenty years ago. As it became infrequent in its 
eruptions, and tourists rarely saw them, the name was un¬ 
consciously, but mistakenly, transferred to the Mud 
Volcano which has none of the characteristics of a 
geyser. 

The locality where these objects are found has consid¬ 
erable historic interest. The ford just befow the Mud Vol¬ 
cano was long used by hunters and trappers who passed 
up and down the river. Folsom crossed it in 1869, and 
the Washburn party in 1870. The Nez Perces encamped 
here two days, in 1877, and hither came General Howard 
in pursuit, although he did not cross the river at this 
point. 

Trout CreeJc (9.5 miles) has a most peculiar feature, 
where the tourist route crosses it, in the form of an 
extraordinary doubling of the channel upon itself. It 
resembles in form the trade-mark of the Northern Pacific 
Railroad. 

Sulphur Mountain (11.5 miles) is half a mile back from 
the main route. At its base is a remarkable sulphur 
spring, always in a state of violent ebullition, although 
discharging only a small amount of water. This is highly 
impregnated with sulphur, and leaves a yellow border 
along the rivulet which carries it away. The best time to 
visit Sulphur Mountain is on a clear, sharp morning. The 
myriad little steam vents which cover the surface of the 
hill are then very noticeable. 

Hayden Valley is a broad, grassy expanse extending 
several miles along the river, and far back from it on the 
west side. It was once a vast arm of the lake. It com¬ 
prises some fifty square miles, and is an important winter 
range for the Park buffalo and elk. 

“ Spurgin’s Beaver Slide ” (13.5 miles) is back from the 


300 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


road, and is the place described in a previous chapter 
where Captain Spurgin, in 1877, let Howard’s wagon train 
down the steep side of the mountain. 

The river along the lower portion of Hayden Valley is 
the most tranquil and lovely stream imaginable—broad, 
deep, transparent, flowing peacefully around its graceful 
curves, disturbed only by the splashing trout which inhabit 
it. There is little here to suggest the mad turmoil into 
which it is soon to plunge. At a point fifteen miles below 
the lake, the river and road are forced by the narrowing 
valley close together. The stream becomes suddenly broken 
into turbulent cascades as it dashes violently between pre¬ 
cipitous banks and among massive bowlders. 

The road also becomes decidedly picturesque. Hung 
up on the almost vertical cliff overlooking the rapids, it 
forms a short drive unsurpassed for interest anywhere else 
in the Park. At one point it crosses a deep ravine on a 
massive reinforced concrete bridge, known as the Canyon 
Bridge, designed by Messrs. N. M. Stark & Company of 
Des Moines, la., and built under the direction of Amos 
A. Fries. Just to the left of this bridge, in the bottom 
of the ravine, still stands the tree upon which some white 
man carved his initials away back in 1819. At the point 
where the river breaks into the first cascade a slender arch 
the Chittenden Bridge, spans the gorge, over which the 
the highway leads to the Canyon Camp and Artist Point. 

Half a mile below the head of the rapids, the river sud¬ 
denly contracts its width to less than fifty feet, turns 
abruptly to the right, and disappears. It is the Upper 
Falls of the Yellowstone (15.7 miles). In some respects, 
this cataract differs from almost any other. Although the 
ledge over which it falls is apparently perpendicular, the 
velocity of flow at the crest of the fall is so great that the 
water pours over as if on the surface of a wheel. Visitors 
at Niagara have noticed the difference in this respect be¬ 
tween the almost vertical sheet of water on the American 
side and the well-rounded flow at the apex of the Horse- 











Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Great Fall of the Yellowstone—308 Feet in Height 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


301 


shoe Fall. The height of the Upper Fall of the Yellow¬ 
stone is 112 feet. 

From the Upper Falls the road pursues a circuitous 
route full of scenic interest and noteworthy in itself as an 
engineering feat in location and construction. Beyond the 
Haynes Picture Shop, the Ranger Station, General Store, 
and Canyon Junction, the road crosses Cascade Creek 
(Crystal Falls is a few hundred feet below) and comes out 
on the very edge of a cliff whence is unfolded the vista of 
the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. The sight is im¬ 
pressive and absorbing, but the impatient stage-driver 
hurries on to the hotel, leaving a further examination of 
this wonder-work of Nature for the tourist to take up as an 
afternoon diversion. 

The Canyon Hotel is another of the splendid new hos- 
telries which the hotel management is providing. Con¬ 
sidering its remoteness from all sources of construction 
material it is a marvel, and apart from this fact, it is a 
highly successful effort to adapt architectural design to the 
magnificent character of the surroundings. The building 
is a quarter of a mile back from the brink of the Canyon, 
in an open, elevated park, overlooking the valley of the 
Yellowstone, but cut off from an immediate view of the 
Canyon by an intervening fringe of timber. 

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is acknowledged 
by all beholders to stand without parallel among the 
natural wonders of the globe. Other canyons, the Yosemite, 
for example, have greater depths and more imposing walls; 
but there are none which, in the words of Captain Ludlow, 
“ unite more potently the two requisites of majesty and 
beauty.” The canyon itself is vast. A cross-section in the 
largest part measures 2,000 feet at the top, 200 feet at the 
bottom, and is 1,200 feet deep, giving an area of over 
thirty acres. But such a gorge in any other part of the 
world would not be what it is here. Its sides would soon 
be clothed with vegetation and it would be simply an im- 


302 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


mense valley, beautiful, no doubt, but not what it is in the 
Yellowstone Park. 

There are three distinct features which unite their pecu¬ 
liar glories to enhance the beauty of this canyon. These 
are the canyon itself, the waterfall at its head, and the river 
below. 

It is the volcanic rock through which the river has cut its 
way that gives the Grand Canyon its distinctive charac¬ 
ter. It is pre-eminently a canyon of color. The hue has no 
existence which cannot be found there. “ Hung up and 
let down and spread abroad are all the colors of the land, 
sea, and sky,” says Talmage, without hyperbole. From the 
dark, forest-bordered brink, the sides descend for the most 
part with the natural slope of the loose rock, but fre¬ 
quently broken by vertical ledges and isolated pinnacles, 
which give a castellated and romantic air to the whole. 
Eagles build their nests here, and soar midway through 
the vast chasm, far below the beholder. The more promi¬ 
nent of the projecting ledges cause many turns in the 
general course of the canyon, and give numerous vantage 
places for sight-seeing. Lookout Point is one of these, 
half a mile below the Lower Falls. Inspiration Point, 
some two miles farther down, is another. The gorgeous 
coloring of the canyon walls does not extend through its 
entire length of twenty miles. In the lower portion, the 
forests have crept well down to the water’s edge. Still, it 
is everywhere an extremely beautiful and impressive sight. 
Along the bottom of the canyon, numerous steam vents can 
be seen, one of which, it is said, exhibits geyseric action. 

The Lower Fall of the Yellowstone must be placed in 
the front rank of similar phenomena. It carries not one- 
twentieth of the water of Niagara, but Niagara is in no 
single part so beautiful. Its height is 310 feet. Its descent 
is very regular, slightly broken by a point of rock on the 
right bank. A third of the fall is hidden behind the vast 
cloud of spray which forever conceals the mad play of the 
waters beneath; but the mighty turmoil of that recess in 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


303 


the rocks may be judged from the deep-toned thunder 
which rises in ceaseless cadence and jars the air for miles 
around. 

To many visitors the stream far down in the bottom 
of the canyon is the crowning beauty of the whole scene. It 
is so distant that its rapid course is diminished to the 
gentlest movement, and its continuous roar to the subdued 
murmur of the pine forests. Its winding, hide-and-seek 
course, its dark surface where the shadows cover it, its 
bright limpid green under the play of the sunlight, its 
ever recurring foam-white patches, and particularly its 
display of life where all around is silent and motionless, 
make it a thing of entrancing beauty to all who behold it. 

It is not strange that this canyon has been a theme for 
writer, painter, and photographer, from its discovery to 
the present time. But at first thought it is strange that all 
attempts to portray its beauties are less satisfactory than 
those pertaining to any other feature of the Park. The 
artist Moran acknowledged that “its beautiful tints were 
beyond the reach of human art”; and General Sherman 
said of this artist’s celebrated effort: “ The painting by 
Moran in the Capitol is good, but painting and words are 
unequal to the subject.” 

In photography, the number of pictures by professional 
and amateur artists that have been made of this canyon is 
prodigious. But photography can only reproduce the form; 
it is powerless in the presence of such an array of colors 
as here exists. 

The pen itself is scarcely more effective than the pencil 
or camera. Folsom, who first wrote of the canyon, frankly 
owned that “ language is entirely inadequate to convey a 
just conception of the awful grandeur and sublimity of 
this masterpiece of nature’s handiwork.” Time has shown 
this confession to be substantially true. From the clumsy 
work of the casual newspaper scribe, to the giddy flight 
of that eminent clergyman, who fancied he saw in this 
canyon a suitable hall for the great judgment, with the 


304 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


nations of the earth filing along the bottom upon waters 
“ congealed and transfixed with the agitations of that day,” 
all descriptions do injustice to their subject. They fall 
short of their mark or overreach it. They are not true to 
nature. We shall, therefore, pass them by, and shall com¬ 
mend our readers to a study of this great wonderwork 
from the pine-clad verge of the Grand Canyon itself. 

Back perhaps a quarter of a mile from Inspiration 
Point, but within fifty yards of the brink of the canyon, is 
a huge rectangular block of granite * which rests alone 
in the woods, a most singular and striking object. It is 
evidently an intruder in unfamiliar territory, for there is 
not a particle of granite outcrop known to exist within 
twenty miles. It must have been transported to this place 
from some distant quarry by the powerful agencies of the 
Glacial Epoch. 

Right Bank of the Canyon. Half a mile above the Upper 
Falls is the concrete steel bridge, already referred to. The 
arch has a span of 120 feet. From this bridge a road leads 
down the canyon as far as Artist Point, from which 
Thomas Moran drew his inspiration for the celebrated 
painting which now adorns the Capitol at Washington. 

A short distance above the Chittenden Bridge is the 
Canyon Camp; and nearby is Uncle Tom’s Trail which 
leads to the bottom of the Canyon below the Great Fall— 
a laborious, but worth-while trip. The view from below 
is very impressive and the proximity to the falls gives one 
a sense of the terrible power of this great cataract, which 
cannot be realized when seen from a distance. Fortunately, 
the prevailing breeze wafts the cloud of spray toward the 
left bank of the river and leaves the point at which the 
observer stands comparatively unobscured. 

The guide who conducts tourists through this part of 


* Approximately 24' x 20' x 18' high. 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


305 


their wanderings, has an extremely interesting surprise to 
which he treats everyone—a surprise quite in harmony 
with the general character of the surroundings. Taking his 
protege to the river’s edge he asks him to reach down and 
dig with his fingers into the sandy bottom. Obeying in¬ 
structions, the startled tourist suddenly jerks his hand out 
as if from a bed of slumbering coals. In fact, the bottom 
of the river is a mass of boiling springs. The cold water 
flowing above obscures their presence and but for an acci¬ 
dental discovery they might have remained unknown in¬ 
definitely. 

To the eastward of the Grand Canyon are several inter¬ 
esting hot springs areas, and there is one notable group at 
the southern base of Mt. Washburn. It resembles in some 
degree Mud Geyser and to it the name Devil's Inkstand 
has been given. 


CHAPTER XX 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Grand Canyon to Tower Falls . Mt. Washburn 

D ISTANCE by Dunraven Pass, twenty miles; by sum¬ 
mit of Mt. Washburn, twenty-three miles. 

In planning the tourist routes of the Park it was in¬ 
tended to provide a way of returning to the northern 
entrance from the Grand Canyon without retracing any 
portion of the route. To do this the road was carried 
north from the Canyon to the vicinity of Tower Falls and 
thence to Mammoth Hot Springs. This was done with 
the greater confidence of good results because it introduced 
into the tour some of the finest scenery of the Park and 
an experience in genuine mountain climbing not to be had 
on any other portion. 

In its essential features this result was achieved to the 
full extent desired. But Nature is stronger than man 
and man himself is selfish when it comes to a question of 
his time or his pocketbook. Nature on her part refused to 
melt the snows on the mountain in time for the early 
portion of the tourist season. As to man, the route cost 
him another day in time and added several dollars to his 
expense. Therefore previous to 1915, the great majority 
of the tourists traveled from the Canyon back to the main 
route at Norris, whence those that came in by the northern 
entrance retraced twenty miles of their journey. In the 
face of these insurmountable difficulties, however, the auto¬ 
mobile came to the relief, and has been found to be prac¬ 
tically able to get over the low line of the crossing, that 
is, through Dunraven Pass, with the beginning of the 
306 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


307 


tourist season, so that it now really seems that the Park 
Road work has come into its own. This new route to Mam¬ 
moth Hot Springs via Tower Falls, is no longer in time 
and adds no more to the expense of the tourist than the 
old way. It has also the added attraction of a beautiful 
mountain ride and the opening up of a section of the Park 
which the tourist hasn’t seen before. Those who wish to 
visit the summit of the mountain, make special arrange¬ 
ments for this side trip, leave the main route at Dunraven 
Pass, passing up the south flank of the mountain to the 
summit, returning to the main highway, by way of the 
northern slope, rejoining it four miles beyond Dunraven 
Pass. Either of these trips is a great experience, but of 
course the trip to the summit is the most attractive, for 
it permits the traveler to understand with perfect safety 
to himself, the danger as well as the crowning satisfaction 
of ascending a great mountain. 

After leaving the Grand Canyon, the tourist enters upon 
the true scenic portion of the route. Hitherto he has been 
absorbed with those peculiar phenomena on which the fame 
of the Park chiefly depends. He has doubtless often ex¬ 
pressed his surprise that one can travel so far in the very 
heart of the Rocky Mountains and see so little near at 
hand of the rugged grandeur which is associated in his 
mind with the scenery of those mountains. The ride over 
Mt. Washburn will satisfy any reasonable expectation he 
may have in this regard. 

For three miles after leaving the hotel the road extends 
across a rolling forested country and reaches the base of 
the mountain at the crossing of the east fork of Cascade 
Creek. Here the ascent begins, and here begins also that 
marvelous development of scenery which perhaps has no 
parallel on any other highway in the world. In the course 
of a mile or so the road rises above the dense forests on the 
right and the broad champaign to the south unfolds itself 
to the view with the distant peaks of Sheridan and the 
Tetons and of the Absaroka Range defining the limit of 


S08 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


vision. Winding in and out of deep ravines, and over a 
high spur of Dunraven Peak, everywhere among grassy 
slopes or scattered growths of evergreen where the wild 
game find ideal pasturage, the labor of ascent is almost for¬ 
gotten in the constant attraction of the surroundings. 
There is no need to look far away to see the beauty of 
nature. It is spread in extravagant profusion all around. 
The forest growths exhibit that superb regularity of form 
and richness of color that characterize the spruce and fir 
in the higher altitudes. The mountain side is one vast 
flower garden, where the columbine, larkspur, paintbrush, 
and kindred blossoms give a rich tone to the green forest 
glades. 

At a point where the road rises a hundred feet or more 
to avoid an extensive marshy tract, Yellowstone Lake 
comes into view, but it is lost again as the road descends 
into 

Dunraven Pass (7 miles). This crossing leads from the 
south to the north slope of the Washburn Range and carries 
the tourist to the headwaters of Tower Creek, or its eastern 
tributary, Carnelian Creek. It is a very practicable moun¬ 
tain pass, as unlike Sylvan Pass as are the rocky walls 
of the Grand Canyon to the grassy slopes of Hayden 
Valley. It required no heavy draft upon the skill of 
the engineer to select it as the best crossing of the 
range. 

At Dunraven Pass the road divides. The low line passes 
directly through and skirts the steep western slope of 
Washburn on a nearly level grade until it reaches the 
crest of a long spur, locally known as the “ hog back,” the 
great northern buttress to the mountain, and nature’s well- 
made stairway to the summit from that side. This lower 
route gives a short cut for travelers who do not care to 
pass over the mountain. 

To enable visitors to reach the top of the mountain, the 
Chittenden Road branches off from the main line in 
the Pass, climbs up the southwest slope to the summit, and 









Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 

Ti JRNABOUT ON Mt. WaSIIBURN -TIIE ClIITTENDEN ROAD 





A TOUR OF THE PARK 309 

descends along the crest of the spur on the north until 
it joins the main line. 

The development of the scenery as the road ascends the 
mountain from Dunraven Pass to the summit (3 miles), 
constitutes one of the most interesting features of the en¬ 
tire Park tour. As the steep grade carries the tourist rap¬ 
idly into a higher altitude, new objects of interest come 
into view in all directions far and near. Again the silver 
surface of Yellowstone Lake stands out in its dark forest 
environment and the winding course of the Yellowstone can 
be traced nearly to the head of the rapids. The main view 
on the first portion of the climb lies to the southwest with 
Mt. Sheridan and the Tetons the most conspicuous objects. 
A great rift in the earth’s surface in the near foreground 
shows where the Grand Canyon lies, and clouds of vapor, 
seen under favorable conditions, indicate the localities of 
the falls. 

After an ascent of about a mile the road crosses a bald 
ridge—the south spur of the mountain—and brings at once 
into view the whole southern half of the Absaroka Range. 
The rugged peaks that bound the eastern horizon, the for¬ 
est-covered areas nearer by, the central portion of the Grand 
Canyon and the green, grassy parks along the base and sides 
of the mountain, almost at the feet of the tourist, are 
among the new attractions which the road unfolds to his 
view. 

A short drive along the crest of the ridge toward the 
Washburn summit, leads to a depression or “ saddle 99 be¬ 
tween the main mountain and a prominent peak between 
it and Dunraven Pass. Here again the view changes com¬ 
pletely, and the tourist now looks out upon an entirely new 
landscape spread over the northwestern portion of the 
Park. The Gallatin Range, with Electric, Sepulcher, and 
Bunsen Peaks, and even Cinnabar Mountain and the 
“ Devil’s Slide,” are distinctly visible if the air be clear. 
In the nearer foreground is the vast amphitheater which 
comprises the watershed of Tower Creek and its tribu- 


310 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


taries, one of the most magnificent forest scenes to be 
found in the mountains. To the north are the serried 
peaks of the snowy range beyond the border of the Park, 
and on the hither side of the boundary are Crescent and 
Garnet Hills, familiar landmarks near the beautiful spot 
which will probably always bear the name of John Yancey. 

This noble landscape grows and expands as the road 
zigzags for a mile up the western slope of the mountain. 
The road is itself an object of interest here, from the great 
difficulty of construction and the dangerous situations 
through which it passes. It leads to the crest of a rocky 
ridge that juts out directly south from the main summit 
and is so broken and wild that it might well appall an en¬ 
gineer who should seek to find a passage through it. But 
the passage was found and the road built, and after break¬ 
ing through a comb of rock leads to another “ saddle ” 
between the Washburn summit and a slightly lower one 
directly to the east. 

Again the scene shifts completely and the tourist looks 
out upon the country around the northeast corner of the 
Park, where lies one of the most rugged mountain masses in 
the United States. Scores of giant peaks stand silhouetted 
against the sky, among them Index and Pilot, well-known 
landmarks in all that region. In the nearer foreground is 
the valley of Lamar River with its large tributaries gash¬ 
ing the great ranges to the north, while close in at the base 
of the mountain is the lower portion of the Grand Canyon 
of the Yellowstone. The entire mountain side below is a 
variegated landscape where dense forests, open evergreen 
groves, rolling grassy hills, and green patches of the 
quaking aspen vie with each other in composing a scene 
of transcendent beauty and interest. 

Now follows a short spiral climb, which terminates at 
the summit of Mt. Washburn (10 miles), where the suc¬ 
cessive scenes which we have attempted to describe stand 
forth in one all-embracing panorama, requiring only that 
the sight-seer turn completely around in his tracks (orient 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


511 


himself through 360 degrees, as an engineer would say), 
to take it all in.* 

An illustration of the kaleidoscopic effect of this moun¬ 
tain climb in developing the surrounding landscape is 
furnished by an incident which occurred soon after the road 
was opened to travel. A United States Senator, distin¬ 
guished for his brilliant abilities and eminent public serv¬ 
ice, a frequent visitor to the Park, and a zealous guardian 
of its interests, was taking the trip up the mountain as 
guest of the engineer in charge of the work. The Senator 
possessed in high degree the invaluable faculty of telling 
stories well, and he had an inexhaustible supply, drawn 
largely from his experience in public life. He was as 
fond of entertaining in this way as his listeners were of 
being entertained by him. So it happened that, on the 
two-hour ride up the mountain, he divided his time about 
equally between enthusiasm for the scenery and indulgence 
in his favorite pastime. This was satisfactory to his host, 
for the sight-seeing happened to come where the best en¬ 
gineering was in evidence and the abstraction of story¬ 
telling where the road work was least worthy of notice. 

As the surrey rounded the point of the first prominent 
ridge and disclosed the marvelous view for which it was 
built there, the Senator dropped his stories and broke forth 
into raptures of delight at the prospect before him. In 
particular he noted a column of steam rising from the 
timber far down directly in front, and remarked that he 
had never before known of any hot springs in that vicinity. 

The surrey went on, the scenery was forgotten in the 
story-telling, and when the next vantage point was reached 
the Senator quite unconsciously had shifted front and was 
facing in a different direction. In the course of a second 
outburst of enthusiasm, he looked back over his shoulder 

* On August 2, 1913, on the summit of the mountain, Secretary 
of the Interior Franklin K. Lane, with the Superintendent of 
the Park and others, formally christened the Mt. Washburn 
road after the builder. 



312 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


and the column of steam again caught his eye. “ Another 
hot spring! ” he exclaimed. “ Wonderful! wonderful! ” 
And the engineer acquiesced. 

During the oral reverie which followed, the surrey made 
a half turn to the right, stopping at another remarkable 
viewpoint. Here again the Senator’s effusions upon the 
landscape were punctuated by the discovery of a hot 
spring, this time to his left front. A similar interval 
similarly employed brought the steam vent into the right 
field and another turn in the road found it directly in 
rear. The engineer evinced a lively pleasure at these sev¬ 
eral discoveries and approved the Senator’s criticism of the 
early explorers for not making known what a smouldering 
volcano Mt. Washburn really was. 

A final lapse into the reminiscent mood, while the surrey 
made the spiral climb to the summit, and the Senator lifted 
his eyes to find no longer any portion of the mountain 
above him, but himself on the very pinnacle, looking down 
upon it all. For the first time words failed him. Leaping 
from the vehicle, he turned round and round in silent 
amazement. Finally, after a somewhat careful scrutiny 
of the mountain slopes, he turned to the engineer and 
asked: “ Where are all those hot springs which I dis¬ 
covered? ” “ There it is,” replied his host, pointing to the 
steam vent still puffing away in the identical spot to which 
the Senator had given five different locations. A quizzical 
look; then an outburst of laughter, and the Senator for¬ 
mally thanked the engineer for the considerate interest 
shown in his “ discoveries ” during the ride up the hill.* 


* Although altogether a digression in this place, the author 
cannot forego the recital of an incident of some years before in 
which the same parties were principals. The Senator and the 
engineer were inspecting a newly made ditch which was to con¬ 
vey a water supply from Glen Creek to Mammoth Hot Springs. 
The fresh earth made the line of the ditch distinctly visible for 
a long distance. By reason of an illusion familiar to those who 
live in regions where the earth’s surface is much tilted up from 
the level, the lower end of the ditch appeared decidedly higher 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


313 


Mt. Washburn is the most celebrated peak in the Park, 
and the first to receive its present name. Its prominence 
justifies its notoriety, but the real cause of it is the fact 
that for eight years the main tourist route lay across it. 
From its summit the Washburn party received the first 
definite confirmation of the truth of the rumors that led 
them into this region. All reports and magazine articles 
which first gave a knowledge of the Park to the world were 
written by persons who had crossed this mountain. As the 
view from its summit is comprehensive and grand, cover¬ 
ing almost the entire Park, it of course figured prominently 
in all narratives. Visitors fell into the custom established 
by the first explorers, of leaving their cards in a receptacle 
for the purpose on the summit. Many eminent names 
were to be seen there, until some vandal carried the box 
away. Now the number of visitors is too great for such a 
record to have the interest it then had. 

It is idle to undertake a description of the panorama 
to be seen from the summit of Mt. Washburn, it includes 
too much and assumes too many changes with the changing 
hours and seasons. It is one thing in the morning, another 
at noon, and something quite different at sunset, or in the 
night. It is entrancing alike in cloudless sky or tempest, 
in the white robe of winter or the many-hued costume of 
summer—but always, in whatever guise, sublime. 

Visitors to whom the wonders of the Park mean more 
than the empty vanity of saying they have seen them, will 
find this point of their tour a favorable one for reviewing 
the broad outlines of development by which the Park grew 


than the upper portion visible in the distance. “Well!” said 
the Senator, almost doubting the engineer’s word, “ when Bill 
McKinley comes out here next summer [the President was plan¬ 
ning a visit] I will bring him to this very spot and show him 
that water can flow up hill.” 

Half an hour later, upon return to the hotel, the news of the 
fatal tragedy in Buffalo was received, and with it vanished the 
hope that his honored friend would ever visit the region which 
the Senator loved so well. 



314 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


into its present form. For this is indeed the place from 
which the entire evolution might have been witnessed. 
Only dim traces here and there remain, but from these we 
may, by some exercise of the imagination, fill in the event¬ 
ful record. 

Let us go back, then, to those primal times when every¬ 
where beneath and around were the rolling waves of the 
sea, except that far on the horizon in various directions the 
sky-line denoted elevations above the surface of the water. 
These were the first land, the “ beginning ” of the Yellow¬ 
stone, but where our mountain now is, none had yet 
appeared. 

At length comes a time when the earth’s crust is pushed 
upward; the water slides off the land, and the space of the 
ocean is reduced. The plastic crust is creased and folded 
and great mountains are formed, among them doubtless the 
one on which we are standing. The Park becomes dry 
land—a great basin surrounded by lofty hills. 

The forces of life assert themselves; vegetation springs 
up; rivers flow down to the sea, and the sun daily illumines 
a world rejoicing in the beauty of growth. 

Then follows a reign of terror, for the very earth bursts 
forth with fire and ashes until the sun is hid and the world 
is shrouded in darkness. The giant trees are overwhelmed, 
broken down and buried deep in the lifeless mass. The 
valleys are filled up, new mountains are built, and the 
face of Nature is radically changed. The vast amphitheater 
at the feet of the visitor, as he stands facing westward, is 
one of the centers of these volcanic tempests. 

After a time the fires cease, and Nature, ever quick to 
respond, puts forth again tree and flower, and a new world 
arises on the ruins of the old. Again the crater breaks 
forth; terror and desolation reign and the beauty of life 
is smitten in dust and ashes. 

So it continues for countless centuries until the fury of 
the volcano is spent and its dominion comes to an end; and 
until the vast basin, which was formed when the land arose 







Copyright, J. E. Haynes, St. Paul 


Lower End of Grand Canyon—near Tower Fall 








A TOUR OF THE PARK 


315 


from the sea, is filled with the debris cast forth from the 
earth’s interior. 

And now a marvelous transformation ensues. Heat is 
followed by cold, fire gives way to snow, and the reign of 
lava is succeeded by the reign of ice. The sky is again ob¬ 
scured, no longer with smoke and ashes, but with silvery 
snow which falls until it enrobes the earth in a mantle of 
ice as deep as the lava beneath it. Yielding to its weight, 
it slides with infinite procrastination down the slopes, carv¬ 
ing out new valleys and canyons, scoring the rocky hillsides, 
breaking off bowlders, rounding and polishing them like 
marbles, and molding the landscape into new forms. 

At last the ice king is shorn of his power; the glaciers 
melt and drop their burden of rocks and debris; the sun 
resumes its sway and life begins again. Then for the first 
time the country around this mountain looked somewhat 
as it does to-day, though to the south it was very different. 
The waves of Yellowstone Lake washed its base, and the 
Canyon and Falls did not exist. Presently some change 
occurs and the waters commence flowing north. They cut 
into the soft, decomposed rock, and year after year dig 
deeper into the color-laden earth, until they form the vast 
chasm that halfway encircles the mountain. 

From the passing of the ice age, on through periods of 
time which we cannot measure, the Park grows to its 
present form. The pent-up but not extinguished fires 
cover the face of the country with geysers and springs and 
strange suggestions of the nether world. But the milder 
forces of Nature are also doing their work. The hillsides 
are clothed with forests and flowers. New forms of life 
arise and stately elk and gentle deer are seen among the 
trees. Then man appears—aboriginal man—few in num¬ 
bers, and armed with the crude weapons of a primitive age. 

Time rolls on and at length there comes a man of dif¬ 
ferent skin and costume, wending his solitary way across 
this mighty wilderness. One standing on this summit 
might have seen him clambering up its southern face, a 


316 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


“ thirty-pound pack” on his back, perhaps coming to this 
very point to study his surroundings, and then disappearing 
to the northward not to be seen again. It was the coming 
of the white man. 

Others follow in his train, in hunter garb, and for many 
years roam over the country like the Indians who came be¬ 
fore them. At last a larger company appear, hunters, not 
after the game of the forest, but the wonders of Nature of 
which they had heard strange reports. They climb this 
mountain, give it a name, and go their way. Others in 
ever increasing number follow, and at last come pick and 
spade and dynamite, and a roadway is carved up the rocky 
slopes to this very summit, that man may come here, 
through all future time, and study the handiwork of 
Nature as it lies outspread before him from the summit of 
Mt. Washburn. 

But the wind is rising and we were warned at the 
hotel that it usually blows a gale on the mountain in 
the afternoon. Moreover there is still far to go before 
we reach our noonday luncheon. Let us then bid adieu 
to this climax of all we have seen and hie back to our 
seat in the coach. The long ride down the northern slope 
of the mountain is full of interest although there are no 
specially noteworthy features immediately on the route. 
It follows the long spur already mentioned as the great 
northern support of the mountain and the natural line of 
ascent to its summit. The road is first on one side of the 
crest and then on the other, and the scene is thus constantly 
shifting and always with renewed interest. It finally 
plunges into a rather open forest, and after many curves 
and windings in getting down from a lofty bench, reaches 
.the picturesque situation on the shores of Tower Creek 
(20 miles). The Public Automobile Camp and Haynes 
Picture Shop and Store are situated near the trail leading 
to Tower Fall. This is an ideal camping site which is 
very popular with motorists. 


CHAPTER XXI 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 

Tower Falls to Mammoth Hot Springs 

D ISTANCE, twenty-two miles. Before starting on the 
final stage of our tour, let us examine the at¬ 
tractions in this immediate vicinity and take a side 
trip to the northeast corner of the Park. Nowhere 
on the reservation can the tourist find a more desirable 
place in which to spend a season of rest and recreation. 
It is full of attractions for the lover of Nature and 
for the scientific inquirer. The scenery in the imme¬ 
diate vicinity of the falls and for two miles below, is 
quite different from anything else in the Park and is not 
surpassed anywhere for variety and beauty. It is the lower 
end of the Grand Canyon, but wholly changed in appear¬ 
ance from the portion farther up. The gorge is about 500 
feet deep, with nearly vertical sides, and the green waters 
of the river run through it as in the bottom of a trough, 
flecked everywhere with white patches which show how 
rapidly it flows. Along the sides of the canyon well up 
toward the brink are fine examples of columnar basalt 
walls, so regular in outline that they look like great stone 
fences erected there by the hand of man. The name 
Palisades has been suggested as appropriate to this re¬ 
markable formation. 

Tower Creek is a wild mountain torrent rushing in 
foamy cascades down a bed strewn with granite bowlders. 
Soon after passing under the arch bridge, where it is 
flowing almost directly north, it makes a complete turn 
about, is lost among bizarre projections of volcanic rock 
and immediately afterward plunges over the celebrated 
317 


318 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Tower Falls. This cataract is not visible at all from the 
road and can be seen only by walking a quarter of a mile 
toward the river. But the sight is worth the pains, for the 
fall is the most beautiful in the Park, if one takes into 
consideration all its surroundings. The fall itself is very 
graceful in form. The deep cavernous basin into which it 
pours itself is lined with shapely evergreen trees, so that 
it is partially screened from view. Above it stand those 
peculiar forms of rock characteristic of this locality—de¬ 
tached pinnacles or towers which gave rise to the name. 
The lapse of more than forty years since Lieutenant Doane 
saw these falls, has given us nothing descriptive of them 
that can compare with the simple words of his report 
penned upon the first inspiration of a new discovery: 

“ Nothing can be more chastely beautiful than this 
lovely cascade, hidden away in the dim light of over¬ 
shadowing rocks and woods, its very voice hushed to a 
low murmur, unheard at the distance of a few hundred 
yards. Thousands might pass by within half a mile and 
not dream of its existence; but once seen, it passes to the 
list of most pleasant memories.” 

Just above the mouth of Tower Creek is the old Ban¬ 
nock Ford over the Yellowstone, a crossing of immemorial 
antiquity, $nd the same that was used by Colter in 1807. 

The Overhanging Cliffs just below the crossing of Tower 
Creek are an interesting feature and beneath them was 
one of the most difficult pieces of construction work on 
the road system. The cliff overhangs the road fully forty 
feet and the stratum at its base is of a soft material which 
seems utterly unfit to sustain the mighty load above it. 
The tourist feels an involuntary desire to hasten on to the 
other side and is sure that the time is not far distant 
when the cliff will form a dam across the river in the 
chasm below.* 


* Another digression. In April, 1903, President Roosevelt was 
in camp for a few days on the summit of this cliff. The road 
was then in process of construction and far enough along to 



A TOUR OF THE PARK 


319 


The peculiar towers or pinnacles to which we have al¬ 
ready referred, occur all along this stretch of the river, and 
one of them is probably the most remarkable feature of its 
kind in the world. It rises from the bottom of the canyon 
close to the edge of the water on the left bank to a height 
of fully 300 feet above the water surface. It is locally 
called the Needle. It was seen by Folsom in 1869, and 
then forgotten until it was rediscovered a few years ago. 
It stands like a solitary watch tower to guard the lower 
entrance to the Grand Canyon, and will henceforth re¬ 
main one of the rare wonders of the Park. 

All along this stretch of the river are abundant evi¬ 
dences of internal heat. There are a great many small 
springs and steam vents, and the odor of sulphur is very 
apparent. About two miles below Tower Creek, just to the 
left of the road, in an open space covered with hot springs 
near Camp Roosevelt and the Tower Fall Ranger Station. 

About two miles northward on the main road from 
Tower Falls is the junction with a side road which might 
be termed, not improperly, the Northeastern Approach. It 
is the so-called Cooke City road, and lies almost wholly in 
the valleys of Lamar River and a northern tributary, 
Soda Butte Creek. The country in the valley of the 
Lamar River is full of interesting features and one might 

permit passage on foot or horseback. One afternoon the Presi¬ 
dent, Mr. Burroughs, the Park Superintendent, the Engineer of 
the work and some others were sauntering slowly along under the 
cliff. The frost was coming out of the ground and many rocks 
had been loosened from above and had fallen into the road. A 
good-sized pebble, falling from such a height, might be fatal, and 
we all felt some anxiety under the circumstances. One of our 
number gave expression to this feeling, whereupon the Presi¬ 
dent dispelled it with the jocular remark, that if we would let 
him select and bring out there some twenty or more individuals 
whom he might name, we could let all the rocks fall we wanted 
to. Whether it was the anti-imperialists, then particularly 
active, or who it was that were the objects of this distinguished 
consideration the President did not disclose, and none of us ven¬ 
tured to ask. 



320 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


profitably spend a month or more in study and research 
there. It is the largest treeless tract on the Reservation, 
and is the great winter pasture ground of the elk, which 
gather here in thousands as soon as the fall snows come. 
In the summer it is the chief grazing ground of the 
antelope. 

Three-fourths of a mile after leaving the belt line junc¬ 
tion the road crosses the Yellowstone on a steel structure 
called Baronett Bridge. The old bridge, from which this 
name was transferred, stood half a mile below, and 
was the first ever built over the Yellowstone River 
in any part of its course. It was built by the well- 
known mountaineer, C. J. Baronett, in the spring of 1871, 
for the convenience of Clark’s Fork miners. It was par¬ 
tially destroyed by the Nez Perces in 1877, but was re¬ 
paired by Howard’s command, and still further repaired 
the following year by Baronett and Norris. It was re¬ 
placed in 1880 by a more substantial structure, and this 
itself has been replaced by the present steel bridge. 

Junction Butte is on the right bank of the Yellowstone, 
in the angle between that stream and the Lamar River. It 
stands not only near one of the most important stream 
junctions in the Park, but also near a not less important 
road junction. It is a conspicuous object. Its summit is 
nearly flat, and its sides near the summit are perpendicular. 
Below this is a steep slope composed of enormous masses 
of finely broken stone disengaged from the cliff by the 
force of the elements. It is a fitting landmark for its 
important situation. 

After passing Junction Butte the road traverses an open, 
rolling country and crosses Lamar River (4 miles), on a 
wooden bridge about a mile above the mouth of Slough 
Creek, the chief northern tributary. The streams of this 
section all abound in trout and are fished so little that 
they furnish unfailing tribute to the angler who will go 
to the trouble of visiting them. 

Lamar River Canyon (6 miles) is a most remarkable 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


321 


gorge about a mile long, the chief characteristic of which 
is the enormous number and size of granite bowlders which 
have fallen into it. Many of these are worn into almost 
spherical shape and are as smooth as if from the hand 
of a glazer. In one instance the action of the water has 
rolled three or four smaller bowlders around in a de¬ 
pression in a large rock until they have worn it out into a 
veritable bowl. One can only imagine how long this action 
must have continued to produce such a result. In periods 
of low water the stream is almost lost in this mass of 
mighty pebbles, but in high water the wild torrent, as it 
frets and fumes in its rough and uninterrupted passage, 
is one long ribbon of snow-white foam. 

Amethyst Mountain, Specimen Ridge, and the Fossil 
Forests are names at once suggestive of the action of geo¬ 
logical agencies which have been described in another 
chapter. Amethyst, limpid quartz, milky quartz, chal¬ 
cedony, carnelian, prase, chrysoprase, banded agate, flint, 
jaspers of all colors, semiopal, calcite, and many other 
varieties abound. The forest petrifications present one of 
the most interesting scientific problems in the Park. These 
features are found mainly on the south side of the valley. 

Amethyst Falls is a pretty cascade near where a small 
stream of the same name empties into Lamar River. 

Rose Creek Buffalo Ranch (10 miles). In the central 
portion of the Lamar Valley near the mouth of Rose 
Creek the tourist may witness the successful work of the 
Government in preserving what was till lately a fast vanish¬ 
ing remnant of the once mighty buffalo herd of this con¬ 
tinent. See chapter on “ Fauna of the Yellowstone.” 

Soda Butte (16 miles) is a singular mound of calca¬ 
reous deposit built up by a now extinct hot spring. It is 
a conspicuous object, standing, as it does, a white monu¬ 
ment alone in the open valley. Hear it, the Government 
has established one of its most important patrol stations, 
for general surveillance of the northeast portion of the 
Park. 


322 THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


Soda Butte Canyon along the upper course of Soda 
Butte Creek is as wonderful a bit of scenery as any moun¬ 
tains afford. It is everywhere rugged, majestic, and im¬ 
posing, and there is no point in the twelve miles’ length of 
the Canyon that does not present a landscape deserving of 
the tourist’s careful study. 

Trout Lake, on a tributary of Soda Butte Creek, is 
one of the gems of these mountains, and as its name im¬ 
plies, an ideal fishing resort. A branch fish hatchery has 
been established by the Government at this point. 

Cooke City is a small mining camp located just outside 
the northwest corner of the Park. Its chief interest in 
this connection arises from its long continued and persist¬ 
ent effort in former years to secure railroad connection 
across the Park. 

Death Gulch, a side ravine in the valley of Cache Creek, 
first tributary of Lamar River above Soda Butte Creek, 
is a spot about which there hangs a great deal of mystery. 
It is claimed by reputable authorities, on the strength of 
personal observation, that it emits a deadly gas, and that 
animals, even of the larger species, have been found dead 
there in considerable numbers. The truth of these state¬ 
ments has been strenuously denied by others. The author 
himself once visited the spot for the express purpose of 
settling the question in his own mind, and was unable to 
find any evidence of the gas or of any animals killed by 
it. The slope of the ravine is such that the accumulation 
of a heavy gas is impossible, unless dammed up by snow 
drifts in winter. While the positive statements of reputa¬ 
ble observers cannot easily be set aside, it is remarkable 
that all the evidence which they claim to have witnessed 
should disappear so quickly and so completely. 

The Hoodoo Region, near the head of Miller Creek, be¬ 
yond the east boundary of the Park, furnishes probably the 
most striking example in existence of the effects of erosion 
and wind action upon masses of moderately soft rock. The 
region was discovered by miners in 1870, but was first ex- 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


323 


plored and reported upon by Colonel Norris in 1880, who 
thus describes it with characteristic exuberance of style: * 

“ Nearly every form, animate or inanimate, real or 
chimerical, ever actually seen or conjured by the imagina¬ 
tion, may here be observed. Language does not suffice to 
describe these peculiar formations; sketches may probably 
do something, and photographs more, to convey a concep¬ 
tion of their remarkable character, but actual observation is 
necessary to adequately impress the mind with the wild, 
unearthly appearance of these eroded Hoodoos of the Goblin 
Land. These monuments are from fifty to two or three 
hundred feet in height, with narrow, tortuous passages 
between them, which sometimes are tunnels through perma¬ 
nent snow or ice fields, where the Big Horn sheep hide in 
safety; while the ceaseless but ever changing moans of the 
wild winds seem to chant fitting requiems to these gnome¬ 
like monuments of the legendary Indian gods.” 

Returning to the junction with the belt line, we shall 
now set out on the last stage of our journey—back to 
Mammoth Hot Springs. On the left, soon after starting, 
we pass 

Lost Creek Canyon and Falls, which, hidden in the forest 
a half mile back from the road as it crosses the plains near 
the old bathing spring, is well worthy of a visit. It reminds 
one somewhat of the Falls of Minnehaha. The formation of 
the walls is very unusual, and the water pours over the 
brink in a light spray which forms, with the surrounding 
verdure, a scene of quiet beauty rarely found in so wild 
and rough a country. Near the outlet of the canyon is 
one of the ideal camping grounds of the Park, which has 
been utilized by hundreds of visitors. With it are asso¬ 
ciated some of the most pleasant memories in the tourist 
history of this region. 

The Petrified Trees, two weather-scarred stubs, ancient 


* Page 8, Annual Report, Superintendent of the Park, for the 
year 1880. 



32 4> THE YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 


monuments of a once more active period of vegetable 
growth -in this region, will gratify the curiosity of the 
tourist who has not time to visit the more extensive region 
of petrifactions further east. They are located on the 
side of a ravine, a quarter of a mile to the left of the road 
and about four miles from Tower Falls. The earth and 
rock have been excavated from around one of them for a 
considerable distance down, disclosing a much larger trunk 
than above the original ground surface. It is an exceed¬ 
ingly suggestive relic of a very remote past. 

" Yancey*s ” or Pleasant Valley, a mile to the north, is 
the name of a beautiful spot in which a long familiar 
character in Park history, “ Uncle ” John Yancey, dwelt 
for many years, and kept a rude lodging place for the con¬ 
venience of visitors to that part of the Park. 

The road now climbs a long hill to the west of Yan¬ 
cey's, four miles, much of the way in dense forests, and 
finally emerges at the summit in a deep gorge through the 
hills called the Crescent Hill Canyon. Immediately upon 
leaving this ravine the road passes over a little ridge from 
which the tourist has an unobstructed view of Electric and 
Bunsen Peaks, Mt. Everts, Terrace Mountain, and the 
roadway leading up from Mammoth Hot Springs, by 
which he started on his tour a few days before. To the 
right lies the Valley of the Yellowstone, the stream flowing 
out of sight fully 1,500 feet below him. The slopes of the 
mountain on the farther shore, seamed with the valleys of 
numerous tributaries, dotted here and there with groves of 
quaking aspen, but generally open and free of forest 
growths, compose a landscape which never fails to call 
forth expressions of delight from those who see it for the 
first time. 

The Third Canyon of the Yellowstone (the third above 
the Great Bend at Livingston, the Grand Canyon being the 
fourth) begins near the mouth of Blacktail Deer Creek and 
continues to the north boundary. It is rarely visited by 
tourists on account of its inaccessibility, but it is well 


A TOUR OF THE PARK 


325 


worth seeing as an example on a large scale of the grandeur 
and power of the forces of Nature that have thus carved a 
way for the river through the very heart of the mountains. 

From the exit from Crescent Hill Canyon the road de¬ 
scends by a gentle grade to the high bridge over the Gar¬ 
diner River, passing on the way the interesting features 
along the East Gardiner, already described in our list of 
side trips from Mammoth Hot Springs. 

The Gardiner Bridge is of interest as an effort to soften 
the harsh lines of the conventional structure of this sort. 

A ten minutes’ drive from the bridge brings us to 
Mammoth Hot Springs, where the Park tour and our 
present labors end together. 








APPENDIX 


MAP INDEX. 

The following list contains all the geographical names 
in the Park, with marginal references to aid in locating 
them upon the map. 

MOUNTAIN RANGES, PEAKS, BUTTES, RIDGES, HILLS. 

[The numbers in the third column denote elevations. 
These are taken from the latest map by the United States 
Geological Survey, and are the same as that of the one hurt- 
dred foot contour nearest the summit. The true elevation 
of the ultimate peak is in each case slightly greater, lying 
between the figure given and an altitude one hundred feet 
higher.] 


Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Ablathar Peak... 

..C : 

14.. 

.10,800 

Absaroka Range. 

A-X : 

; 12-16 

Amethyst Mtn... 

..F : 

11.. 

. 9,423 

Antler Peak. 

. ..E 

: 4.. 

.10,200 

Atkins Peak. 

..N : 

14.. 

.10,900 

Avalanche Peak. 

..L : 

13.. 

.10,500 

Bannock Peak... 

...D 

: 4.. 

.10,400 

Barlow Peak.... 

..Q : 

10.. 

. 9,500 

Baronett Peak... 

. .C : 

13.. 

.10,300 

Big Game Ridge. 

Q-J : 

9-11. 


Birch Hills. 

.. .R 

: 4.. 

. 7,300 

Bison Peak. 

. .D : 

12.. 

. 8,800 

Bobcat Ridge.... 

...T 

: 9.. 

. 9,500 

Bunsen Peak.... 

...D 

: 6.. 

. 9,100 

Cathedral Peak., 

.. .J : 

13.. 

.10,600 

Chittenden, Mt.. 

..K : 

12.. 

.10,100 

Cinnabar Mtn... 

.. .A 

: 5.. 

. 7,000 

Colter Peak. 

. .O : 

13.. 

.10,500 

Crags, The. 

.. .E 

: 3.. 

. 9,000 

Crescent Hill.... 

.. .D 

: 9.. 

. 7,900 


Name. 

Map. 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Crow Foot Ridge.D.E.: 5.., 

. 9,700 

Doane, Mt.... 

. .M : 13.. 

.10,500 

Dome, The. 

, . .E : 4.., 

. 9,900 

Druid Peak.... 

. .D : 12.. 

. 9,600 

Dunraven Peak 

. . .F: 9. . 

. 9,700 

Eagle Peak.... 

,..0 : 14.. 

.10,800 

Echo Peak. 

, . .E : 4. ., 

. 9,600 

Electric Peak.. 

. ,B : 4-5. ., 

.11,155 

Elephant Back. 

...J: 9... 

. 8,600 

Everts, Mt. 

... .G : 7.. 

. 7,900 

Factory Hill..., 

.O : 8.. 

. 9,500 

Flat Mtn. 

_N : 9.. 

. 9,009 

Folsom Peak... 

... .E : 8.. 

. 9,300 

Forellen Peak... 

_T : 5.. 

. 9,700 

Gallatin Range. 

A-F : 1-4.. 

. 

Garnet Hill.... 

.C : 9.. 

. 7.000 

Giant Castle.... 

K : 14-15.. 

.10 000 

Gibbon Hill.... 

... .H : 6.. 

. 8,600 

Gravel Peak.... 

...T : 11.. 

. 90500 

Gray Peak. 

. .C-D : 4.. 

.10,300 

Grizzly Peak... 

.. .L : 12.. 

. 9,700 



328 APPENDIX. 


Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Hancock, Mt.... 

..R : 10.. 

.10,100 

Red Mt. Range. 

,..P 7-8.. 


Hawks Rest.. 

. .R : 14.. 

. 9,800 

Reservation Peak.M : 14.. 

.10,600 

Hedges Peak...., 

...G : 9.. 

. 9.500 

Roaring Mtn... 

_F : 6.. 

. 8,000 

Holmes, Mt. 

...F : 4.. 

.10,300 

Saddle Mtn.... 

...H : 15.. 

.11,100 

Horseshoe Hill.. 

...E : 6.. 

. 8,200 

Sc-hurz, Mt. 

...N : 14.. 

. 9,500 

Hoyt, Mt. 

. .L : 13.. 

.10,400 

Sepulcher Mtn.. 

B-C : 5-6.. 

. 9,500 

Huckleberry Mtu 

...S : 7.. 

. 9,700 

Sheepeater Cliffs.. .D : 7.. 

. 7,500 

Humphreys, Mt.. 

..N : 14.. 

.11,000 

Sheridan, Mt... 

... .P : 8.. 

.10,250 

Index Peak.... 

. . C : 16. . 

.11,740 

Signal Hills_ 

. ..M : 12.. 

. 9,500 

Joseph Peak.... 

..C: 4.. 

.10,300 

Silver Tip Peak 

.. .K : 13.. 

.10,400 

Junction Butte.. 

.B:10.. 

. 6,500 

Specimen Ridge 

...E : 11.. 

. 8,700 

Lake Butte. 

.K: 11.. 

. 8,600 

Stevenson, Mt., 

...M : 13.. 

.10,300 

Landmark, The. . 

.F : 6. . 

. 8,800 

Cook Peak . 

-E : 8.. 

. 9,500 

Langford, Mt... 

.M : 13. . 

.10,600 

Survey Peak.... 

_T : 4.. 

. 0,200 

Mary Mtn. 


. 8,500 

Table Mtn. 

. ..O : 14.. 

.10,800 

Moran, Mt. 

.W: 5. . 

.12,800 

Terrace Mtn.... 

....C : 6.. 

. 8,100 

National Park Mt. 


Teton, The G’nd 

.Off Map.. 

.13,691 

Needles, The. 

, .E : 14.. 

. 9,600 

Three Rivers Peak.E : 4.. 

. 9,900 

Norris, Mt. 

...E : 13. 

..9,900 

Thunderer, The 

. ..D : 14.. 

.10,400 

Observation Peak..G: 8.. 

. 9,300 

Top Notch Peak 

...L : 13.. 

.10,000 

Obsidian Cliff. 

, ..F : 6.. 

. 7,800 

Trident, The..., 

.Q-R : 14.. 

.10,000 

Paint Pot Hill... 

..H : 6.. 

. 7,900 

Trilobite Point. 

_F : 4.. 

. 9,900 

Pelican Cone. 

..I : 12.. 

. 9,580 

Turret Mtn. 

...P : 14.. 

.10,400 

Pilot Knob.. 

..C : 16.. 

.11,977 

Twin Buttes..., 

...K : 14.. 

. 8,400 

Pinon Peak. 

..S : 10.. 

. 9,600 

Washburn, Mt.. 

_F : 9.. 

.10.000 

Prospect Peak... 

D-E : 8.. 

. 9,300 

White Peak...., 


. 9,800 

Pyramid Peak... 

..J : 14.. 

.10,300 

W'ildcat Peak... 

_T : 8.. 

. 9,800 

Quadrant Mtn.... 


.10,200 

Yount Peak.. 

.Off Map.. 

.12,250 


MOUNTAIN PASSES. 


Craig Pass.... 

.L 

i : 6.. 

. 8,300 

Raynolds Pass. 

.Off Map... 6,911 

Jones Pass.... 

... .K 

: 12.. 

. 9,450 

Sylvan Pass.... 

...L : 13... 8,650 

Norris Pass..., 


: 6.. 

. 8,260 






LAKES. 


Beach Lake... 

... K : 

8. .. 

8,150 

Goose Lake.... 

_K : 4... 7,100 

Beaver Lake.. 

... F : 

6... 

7,415 

Grassy Lake... 

-R : 5... 7,150 

Beula Lake... 

.. .R: 

5. .. 

7,530 

Grebe Lake.... 

_G : 8... 7,950 

Bridger Lake.. 

.. . R : 

13. .. 

7,900 

Grizzly Lake... 

_F : 5... 7,490 

Delusion Lake. 
Dryad Lake.. . 

... M : 

... K : 

9. .. 
8. .. 

7,800 

8,250 

Heart Lake. 

-P : 9... 7,469 

Duck Lake.... 

... M : 

7. .. 

7,850 

Henry Lake.... 

.Off Map... 6,443 

Eleanor Lake.. 




Bering Lake.... 

-R : 5... 7,530 

Fern Lake.... 

... H : 

11... 

8,150 

Indian Pond.... 

... .J : 11... 7,750 

Frost Lake. . .. 

.. .1: 

14... 

7,350 

Isa Lake. 

-L : 6... 8,250 

Gallatin Lake. 

... E : 

4... 

9,000 

Jackson Lake... 

.U-W : 6... 6,000 











APPENDIX. 


329 

Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Name. 

M'p 

Reference. 

Alti¬ 

tude. 

Leigh Lake.... 

_W : 5... 


Summit Lake. 

.M : 3... 

8,450 

Lewis Lake... 

.0:7... 

7,720 

Swan Lake... 

.D : 6... 

7,200 

Loon Lake.... 

.R : 3... 

6,400 

Sylvan Lake.. 

.L : 13... 

8,300 

Lost Lake.. 

.M : 7... 

8,500 

Tern Lake.... 

.I : 11... 

8,150 

Madison Lake. 

.N : 4... 

8,250 

Trout Lake... 

.D : 13... 

6,850 

Mallard Lake.. 

.L : 5... 

8,000 

Turbid Lake.. 

_K : 11... 

7,800 

Mary Lake.... 

.J : 7... 

8,100 

Twin Lakes.., 

.G : 6... 

7,450 

Mirror Lake... 

_G : 12... 

8,700 

Wapiti Lake.. 

_H : 11... 

8,500 

Obsidian Lake. 

.E : 6... 

7,650 

White Lake... 

.I : 11... 

8,150 

Riddle Lake... 

.N : 8... 

7,950 

Woods, Lake of the.F : 6... 

7,550 

Shoshone Lake 

.M-N : 5-6... 

7,740 

Yellowstone L. 

.K-O :8-12... 

7,741 


STREAMS. 


[Map locations refer only to outlets, or to points where 
streams pass off the limits of the map. Altitudes refer to 


the same points, but 

are given only in the most important 

cases.] 




Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Agate Creek. 


Calfee Creek. 


Alum Creek. 


Canyon Creek. 


Amethyst Creek. 

. ..E : 12 

Carnelian Creek. 

. E : 9 

Amphitheater Creek.... 

... D : 13 

Cascade Creek.. 

.G : 8 

Antelope Creek. 

... E : 10 

Chalcedony Creek..., 

. E : 12 

Arnica Creek. 

_ L : 8 

Chipmunk Creek.... 

. O : 11 

Aster Creek. 

_ P : 7 

Clear Creek. 

. L : 11 

Astringent Creek. 

.. ..J : 12 

Cliff Creek. 

. Q : 13 

Atlantic Creek.. 

. ...S :13 

Clover Creek. 

. G : 13 


Badger Creek.P : 13 

Basin Creek.Q : 9 

Boar Creek.B : 7 

Bear Creek.K : 11 

Beaver Creek.O :9 

Beaver Dam Creek.O : 12 

Bechler River.R:1 

Berry Creek.U : 6 

Black-tail Deer Creek.B :8 

Bluff Creek.H : 10 

Bog Creek.H : 10 

Boone Creek.T : 1 

Bridge Creek.K : 9 

Broad Creek.F : 10 

Buffalo Creek.D : 11 

Burnt Creek. E : 10 

Cache Creek.F : 13 


Cold Creek.H : 14 

Columbine Creek.M : 11 

Conant Creek.T : 1 

Cotton Grass Creek.H : 9 

Cougar Creek.G :2 

Coulter Creek.R : 8 

Crawfish Creek.R : 6 

Crevice Creek.C : 7 

Crooked Creek.R : 10 

Crow Creek.K : 15 

Crystal Creek.D : 11 

Cub Creek.L : 11 

Deep Creek.E : 10 

De Lacy Creek.M : 6 

Duck Creek.G : 3 

Elk Creek.D:9 

Elk Tongue Creek.C : 12 

























































3S0 


APPENDIX, 


Name. 

Escarpment Creek 

Fairy Creek. 

Falcon Creek. 

Falls River. 

Fan Creek. 

Fawn Creek. 

Firehole River.... 
Firehole, Little... 

Flint Creek. 

Forest Creek.. 

Fox Creek. 


Gallatin River.A : 1 

Gardiner River (5,360).B:6 

Geode Creek.C : 8 

Geyser Creek.H : 6 

Gibbon River.I : 4 

GJade Creek.S : 6 

Glen Creek.C : 6 

Gneiss Creek.G : 1 

Gravel Creek.U : 10 

Grayling Creek.F : 1 

Grouse Creek.0:10 

Harebell Creek.R:S 

Heart River.Q : 9 

Hell Roaring Creek.C : 9 

Indian Creek.E : 6 

Iron Creek.L : 4 

Jasper Creek.D : 11 

Jay Creek.S : 13 

Jones Creek.K : 15 

Juniper Creek.J : 6 

Lamar River (5,970).D : 10 

Lava Creek.D : 7 

Lewis River.R : 7 

Lizard Creek.TJ : 6 

Lost Creek.D : 0 

Lupine Creek.D : 7 

Lynx Creek.Q : 13 

Madison River.G : 1 

Magpie Creek.J : 0 

Maple Creek.G : 2 

Mason Creek.L : 10 

Meadow Creek.M : 11 

Middle Creek.L : 15 

Miller Creek.G : 13 

Mink Creek.T : 11 

Mist Creek.I : 14 


Name. 


Map 

Reference . 

Moose Creek. 




Moss Creek. 




Mountain Creek... 




Mountain Ash Creek.. 


...R : 3 

Nez Perce Creek 

(7,237). 

...J : 4 

Obsidian Creek... 



. ..E : 6 

Opal Creek. 




Otter Creek. 



..H : 8 

Outlet Creek. 




Owl Creek. 




Pacific Creek. 



.W : 11 

Panther Creek...., 




Pebble Creek. 




Pelican Creek. 




Phlox Creek. 



. . Q : 13 

Plateau Creek. 




Polecat Creek. 



. ..S : 6 

Quartz Creek. 




Rabbit Creek. 




Raven Creek. 



..J : 12 

Red Creek.. 




Rescue Creek. 




Rocky Creek.. 




Rose Creek. 




Sedge Creek. 



.K : 11 

Seneclo Creek. 




Sentinel Creek. 




Shallow Creek...., 




Shoshone River..., 



,. L : 10 

Sickle Creek. 




Slough Creek. 




Snake River (6,808) 



. .W : 8 

Soda Butte Creek., 



.E : 12 

Solfatara Creek.... 




Solution Creek. 




Sour Creek. 



. .H : 9 

Spirea Creek. 




Spring Creek. 




Spruce Creek. 



...J : 6 

Squirrel Creek. 




Stellarla Creek.... 



...C : 3 

Straight Creek...., 




Sulphur Creek. 




Surface Creek. 



..G : 9 

Surprise Creek.... 




Tangled Creek. 




Thistle Creek. 





3£ap 

Reference. 
,... Q : 13 

.J : 4 

. ..R : 13 

.S : 1 

.C : 2 

.C : 5 

.I : 4 

.L : 4 

... F : 13 
....Q : 7 
... R : 11 































































































APrENDIX. 


33 1 


Name. 

Map 

Reference. 

Name, 

Map 

Reference. 

Thoroughfare Creek.., 


Weasel Creek. 


Timothy Creek., 


Wi 11 r>w Prppk. 

.H : 14 

Tower Creek. 


Winter Creek. 


Trail Creek. 

.0 : 12 

Witch Creek. 

.O : 8 

Trappers’ Creek. 

.P : 13 

Wolverine Creek.. 


Trout Creek. 

.I : 9 

Yellowstone River 

(5,360)...A : 5 

Violet Creek. 

.I : 8 




WATERFALLS. 


[Figures in parentheses indicate approximate heights of 
falls in feet. These in most cases are not to be relied upon as 
strictly accurate, there having been no published record of 
actual measurements, except in the case of the Yellowstone 


Falls.] 

Amethyst Falls. 



Ouzel Falls. 

....P : 3 

Colonnade Falls. 


.. .P : 3 

Rainbow Falls (140)_ 

.R : 4 

Crecelius Cascade... 


..L : 13 

Rustic Falls (70). 


Crystal Falls (129).. 


...G : 8 

Silver Cord Cascade.... 

....G :9 

Fairy Fall (250). 


.. K : 4 

Terraced Falls. 


Firehole Falls (60). 


.. .1 : 4 

Tower Falls (132). 

...D : 10 

Gibbon Falls (80)... 



Undine Falls (60). 

....D : 7 

Iris Falls. 


...P : 3 

Union Falls. 

....Q : 4 

Kepler Cascade (80). 


. ..L : 5 

Virginia Cascade (60)... 

....H : 7 

Lewis Falls, Upper 

(80). 

.. .P : 7 

Wraith Falls (100). 

....D : 7 

Lewis Falls, Lower 

(50). 

...Q : 7 

Yellowstone Falls. 

....H : 9 

Moose Falls. 


...R : 6 

Upper, (112). 


Mystic Falls. 


.. .L : 4 

Lower, (310). 


Osprey Falls (150).. 


...D : 6 




LIST OF THE PROMINENT GEYSERS. 

The numbers in the third column are the highest re¬ 
corded eruptions. The numbers in the fourth and fifth col¬ 
umns are not to be taken as indicating the correct duration 
or periodicity of eruptions. The prevalent notion that gey¬ 
sers exhibit uniform periodicity of action, is erroneous. 
There is only one geyser of importance in the Park that can 
be depended on, and that is Old Faithful. The figures for 
the other geysers are merely rough averages, true, perhaps, 
as the mean of a year’s observations, but not at all to be 
relied upon in predicting particular eruptions. 





































332 


APPENDIX. 


The following abbreviations are used: “M. H. S.,” for 
Mammoth Hot Springs; “N. G. B.” “L. G. B.,” “M. G. B.” “U. 
G. B.,” “S. G. B.,” and “H. G. B.,” for the Norris, Lower, 
Middle, Tipper, Shoshone, and Heart Lake, Geyser Basins re¬ 
spectively; “E. S. Y.,” and “W. S. Y.,” for the East and West 
Shores respectively of the Yellowstone Lake; “s.” for second; 
“m.” for minute; “h.” for hour; and “d.” for day. 


Name. 


Loca¬ 

tion. 


Eruptions. 


Authors of Names. 


Height. 


Dura¬ 

tion. 


Inter 

val. 


Remarks. 


Arsenic. 

Artemesia. 

a tomizer. 

Bead. 


Bee Hive. 

Bijou. 

Bulger.... 
Castle. 


Catfish. 

Chinaman 


N. G. 
U. G. 
U.G. 
L.G. 


TT. G. 
U. G. 
U.G. 
U.G. 


L. G. 
U.G. 


B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 


B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 


B. 

B. 


150 ft. 
20 ft. 


10 m. 
10 m. 


2d. 


220 ft. 


8 m. 


20 h. 


5 it. 
100 ft. 


25 m. 


24 h. 


U. S.G. 8. 

U. S. G. S. 

Unknown. 

Has a “ beautifully 
beaded tube.”— 
Comstock. 

Washburn Party. 

U. S. G. S. 

U. S.G. 8. 

Washburn Party. 
“ From a distance it 
strongly resembles 
an old feudal castle 
partially in ruins.” 
—Doane, 

U. 8. G. 8. 

U.S. G. 8. Really a 
quiescent spring. 
Sometimes called a 
geyser from the cir¬ 
cumstance that a 
Chinaman who had 
used it for a wash- 


Olepsydra... 


L.G. B. 


60 ft. 


10 s. 


8 m. 


tub caused an erup¬ 
tion by the soap put 
in the spring, thus 
initiating the prac¬ 
tice of “soaping gey¬ 
sers.” 

“ Like the ancient 
water-clock of that 
name, it marks the 
passage of time by 
the discharge of 
water.” — Comstock 


Comet.... 
Congress. 


Constant 


U.G. B. 
N.G. B. 


N. G B. 


60 ft. 


1 m. 


80 ft. 10 s. 1 m 


(1878). 

U. 8. G. 8. 

Came into existence 
in the winter of 1898. 
Like the memorable 
63d Congress, for 
which it is named, 
its performance is 
sadly incommen¬ 
surate with its 
promises, 

Norris. 
































APPENDIX, 


333 


Name 


Cubs. 

Deluge. 

Echinus... 

Economic 


Loca¬ 

tion. 


U. G. B. 
H.G. B. 
N. G. B. 
U.G. B. 


Eruptions. 


Height, 


15 ft. 
20 ft. 


Dura- Inter- 
tlon. val. 


Excelsior, 


M.G.B, 


300 ft. 


1 to 4 h. 


Fan. 

Fnarless. 

Flssue. 

Fitful. 

Fountain. 

Giant. 

Giantess. 

Grand. 

Gray Bulger. 

GreatFountaln 


U.G. B. 
N. G. B. 
N. G. B. 
L. G.:«. 
L. G. B. 
IT. G. B. 
U. B. 
U G. B. 
L. G. B. 
L.G. B. 


60 ft. 


10 m. 


8 h. 


100 ft 
8 ft 
60 ft, 
200 ft 
250 ft 
200 ft 
1 ft 
100 ft 


20 m. 


2 h. 


15 m. 
90 m. 
12 h. 
20 m. 
80 s. 


4 h. 
6 d. 
14 d. 
20 h. 
1 m. 


Grotto.. 

Jet. 

Jewell...., 
Lion. 


U.G. B. 
L.G. B. 
U. G.B. 
U.G. B. 


40 ft. 
16 ft. 
60 ft. 
60 ft. 


80 m 


1 m 
8 m 


4 h. 


60 m. 
24 h. 


Lioness. U. G. B. 

Lone Star. M : 5 


80 ft. 
60 ft. 


10 m. 24 h. 
10 m. 40 m. 


Minute 

Model.. 


N. G. B 
U. G. B 


40 ft. 


20 8 . 


90 8. 


Monarch 

Mortar... 


N. G. B. 125 ft. 
U. G. B. 60 ft. 


20 m. 12 h. 
6 m. 8 h. 


Mud Geyser N. G. B. 

Mud Geyser I : 8 


10 ft. 
80 ft. 


5 m. 20 m. 
20 m. 8 h. 


Authors of Names. 
Remarks. 


See “ Lion.” 

U.S. G. S. 

U.S.G. S. 

No water lost In erup¬ 
tion; all falls back 
into crater. 

“A geyser so immeas¬ 
urably excelling aDy 
other ancient or 
modern known to 
history, that I find 
but one name fit¬ 
ting, and herein 
christen It the Ex¬ 
celsior.”— N orris. 
The Sheridan par¬ 
ties in 1881 and 1882 
called it the Sheri¬ 
dan Geyser. 

Washburn Party. 

Norris. 

U.S.G. S. 

Comstock. 

U. S. G. S. 

Washburn Party. 

Washburn Party. 

U.S G. S. 

U. S. G. S. 

U. S. G. S. Called Ar¬ 
chitectural Foun¬ 
tain in 1871. 

Washburn Party. 

U.S. G. S. 

U. S. G. S. 

With Lioness and 
Cubs called “The 
Chimneys” by Bar- 
low in 1871; renamed 
“ Trinity” Geyser by 
Comstock in 1878; 
most isolated cone 
called “ Niobe ” by 
U. S. G. S. in 1878; 
present name given 
by Norris in 1881. 

See Lion.” 

Unknown. First called 
“ The Solitary ” by 
the U.S.G. 8. in 1872. 

Norris. 

Geyser on a small 
scale. 

Norris. 

“ Resembles in its 
eruption the partic¬ 
ular piece of ord¬ 
nance from which it 
derives its name.”— 
Haynes Guide Book. 

Norris. 

Washburn Party. 














































334 


APPENDIX 




Name. 

Loca¬ 

tion. 

Oblong. 

TT. G. B. 

Old Faithful. 

U. G. B. 

Pearl. 

N.G. B. 

Pebble. 

N. b. b. 

Pink Cone. 

L. G. B. 

Restless. 

U. G. B. 

Riverside. 

U. G. B. 

Rosette. 

L. G. B. 

Rustic. 

H. G. B. 

Sawmill. 

U.G. B. 

Sentinel. 

U.G. B. 

Shield. 

S. G. B. 

Spasmodic. 

U. G. B. 

Spike. 

H.G. B. 

Splendid. 

U.G. B. 

Sponge. 

U. G. B. 

Steady. 

L. G. B. 

Surprise. 

U. G. B 

Turban. 

U. G. B. 

Union (1). 

8. G. B 

(2). 


(8). 


Vixon. 

N. G. B. 

White Dome,... 

L. G. B. 

Young Fait hful 

U.G. B. 

Young Hopeful 

L. G. B. 


Eruptions. 

Height. 

Dura¬ 

tion. 

Inter¬ 

val. 

40 ft. 
150 ft. 

4 m. 

4 X A m. 

8 h. 
65 m. 

50 ft. 


75 m. 





80 ft. 

80 ft. 

47 ft. 

35 ft. 

20 ft. 

16 m. 

8 h. 

4 m. 

15 m. 





6 ft. 





200 ft. 

10 m. 

8 h. 

80 ft. 
100 ft. 

20 ft. 

114 ft. 

66 ft. 

8 ft. 



2 

25 m. 

60 m. 



5 h. 





12 ft. 

20 ft. 

20 ft. 








Authors of Names. 
Remarks. 


U. 8. G. S. 

Washburn Party. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

IT. 8. G.8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

TT. 8. G. 8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

Barlow. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

U. 8. G. 8. 

IT. 8. G. S. 

Norris. 

From appearance of 

the crater. 

U. S.G. 8. 

U.S.G. 8. “ From the 
fancied appearance 
of some of the large 
globular masses In 
Its basin to a Turkish 
head-dress.”—Peale. 

U. 8. G. 8. In 1872. So 
named ‘‘because of 
its combination of 
the various forms of 
geyseric action.” — 
Peale. No. 11s North 
Cone; No. 2 Middle 
Crne; No. 8 South 
Cone. 

Norris. 

TJ. S. G. 8. 

Earl of Dunraven. 

U. 8. G. 8. 




























































BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


Horace M. Allright 

Horace Marden Albright, born in the County of Inyo, Cal¬ 
ifornia, on January 6th, 1890, lived his early boyhood in 
the mountains not far from the Mojave Desert, and rode 
the trails of the high Sierras. At fourteen he visited the 
back country of Yosemite National Park on horseback with 
the forest rangers. He spent several school vacations with 
his pioneer grandfather and with him explored the region 
about Mount Shasta, where he observed the destruction of 
the great forests about Shasta and in the Sacramento Canyon. 
This early experience brought forth a resolution in young 
Albright’s mind that he would be a conservationist, to which 
decision he rigidly adhered. He entered the University of 
California at Berkeley at the age of eighteen, made excellent 
records in his studies of economics, political science and law, 
graduating in 1912, despite the fact he had to largely earn 
his own livelihood while there. Later he took a post graduate 
course of one year, continuing his study of law. He had de¬ 
cided to be a specialist in mining law, and studied this branch 
under William E. Colby, partner of Judge C. H. Lindley, a 
recognized authority. It was in the University of California 
that he met Miss Grace Noble, his classmate, who, in 1915, 
became his wife. 

On leaving college he became law clerk and later assistant 
attorney in the Department of the Interior, in Washington, 
D. C., where he hoped to advance his knowledge of mining 
and land law, and to do original research work in the Library 
of Congress. 

In the Department of the Interior he was assigned problems 
relating to the National Parks, and was thoroughly familiar 
with them when Stephen T. Mather became Assistant to 
the Secretary of the Interior in charge of National Parks in 
1915. He was thereupon assigned by Secretary Lane to 
Mr. Mather as legal aid. Secretary Lane in 1917 appointed 
Mr. Mather Director of the National Park Service, and Mr. 
Albright, Assistant Director. During 1917, 1918 1 and 1919, as 
Assistant Director and Acting Director for a year, he took 
part in many of the greatest events of National Park history. 
The greatest new problem of organization, following the 
close of the Great War, was that of Yellowstone National 
Park, the largest park, one that had formerly been under 
military superintendents for more than thirty years. Mr. 

335 



336 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


Albright was selected by Mr. Mather and Secretary Lane to 
take the Superintendency of this great park and handle the 
administrative problems there. He became Superintendent 
of Yellowstone National Park in 1919 at the age of 29, acting 
also as Field Assistant to the Director, with much work to 
do in connection with all National Parks. 

He is a strong advocate of good roads, his chief interest, 
however, is the conservation of wild life and wild life pro¬ 
tection. 

As Superintendent of Yellowstone National Park, Mr. Al¬ 
bright supervises all operations of the public utilities in the 
park, and has charge of all construction and maintenance of 
the entire road system, trails, telephone and telegraph lines, 
several hay ranches and the Ranger and construction forces, 
consisting of several hundred men. He has to see that foreign 
visitors of note and American officials are properly entertained 
in the Park and arrange for special trips for those who are 
interested in special phases of the Yellowstone. He handles 
the problems of pure water for all public automobile camps, 
of health, sanitation, policing the park, regulating traffic, de¬ 
stroying of predatory animals which prey on the young of 
valuable species, as well as numerous other duties. Mr. Al¬ 
bright is a man of innate modesty, and insists the co-operation 
of his associates and friends have made possible the record of 
achievement shown in Yellowstone since he assumed office 
there. 

James Bridger 

James Bridger was born in Richmond, Va., in March, 1804, 
and died in Washington, Jackson Co., Mo., July 17, 1881. He 
must have gone West at a very early age, for he is known to 
have been in the mountains in 1824. Niles Register for 1822 
speaks of him as associated with Fitzpatrick in the Rocky Moun¬ 
tain Fur Company. Another record of this period reveals him 
as leader of a band of whites sent to retake stolen horses from 
the hostile Bannocks. In 1830 he had become a resident partner 
in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. That he was a recognized 
leader among the early mountaineers while yet in his minority, 
seems beyond question. He became “ The Old Man of the Moun¬ 
tains ” before he was thirty years of age. 

Among the more prominent achievements of Bridger’s life may 
be noted the following: He was long a leading spirit in the 
Rocky Mountain Fur Company. He discovered Great Salt Lake 
and the noted Pass that bears his name. He built Fort Bridger 
in the lovely valley of Black Fork of Green River, where 
transpired many thrilling events connected with the history of 
the Mormons and “ Forty-niners.” He had explored, and could 
accurately describe, the wonders of the Yellowstone fully a quar¬ 
ter of a century before their final discovery. 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


337 

In person he was tall and spare, straight and agile, eyes gray, 
hair brown and long, and abundant even in old age; expression 
mild, and manners agreeable. He was hospitable and generous, 
and was always trusted and respected. He possessed to a high 
degree the confidence of the Indians, one of whom, a Shoshone 
woman, he made his wife. 

Unquestionably Bridger’s chief claim to remembrance by pos¬ 
terity rests upon the extraordinary part he bore in the explora¬ 
tion of the West. The common verdict of his many employers, 
from Robert Campbell down to Captain Raynolds, is that as 
a guide he was without an equal. He was a born topographer. 
The whole West was mapped out in his mind as in an exhaustive 
atlas. Such was his instinctive sense of locality and direction 
that it used to be said that he could “ smell his way ” where he 
could not see it. He was not only a good topographer in the 
field, but he could reproduce his impressions in sketches. “With 
a buffalo skin and a piece of charcoal,” says Captain Gunnison, 
“ he will map out any portion of this immense region, and 
delineate mountains, streams, and the circular valleys, called 
‘ holes/ with wonderful accuracy.” His ability in this line caused 
him always to be in demand as a guide to exploring parties, and 
his name is connected with many prominent government and 
private expeditions. 

His lifetime measures that period of our history during which 
the West was changed from a trackless wilderness to a settled 
and civilized country. He was among the first who went to the 
mountains, and he lived to see all that had made a life like his 
possible swept away forever. 

Hiram Martin Chittenden 

Hiram Martin Chittenden was born October 25th, 1859, in 
Cattaraugus County, New York. He graduated from West 
Point in 1884, third in bis class, and was assigned as 
Lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. He remained in this 
corps until his retirement for physical disability in February, 
1910. He was married December 30th, 1884, in Arcade, New 
York. In 1891-92 he served a two year detail in Yellowstone 
Park as assistant to the officer in charge of highway construc¬ 
tion, and developed an interest in the region which culminated 
in 1895, in the publication of the first edition of “The Yellow¬ 
stone National Park.” Lieut. Chittenden was assigned to other 
duties in 1892. In 1896-7 he was secretary of the Missouri 
River Commission, with headquarters at St. Louis, Missouri, 
where he worked out many improvements in the Missouri 
and other rivers of the valley, becoming recognized as an 
authority on flood control. In 1899, after the close of the 


338 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


Spanish-American war, Chittenden, now a Captain, was again 
sent to the Yellowstone Park, but this time in exclusive 
charge of the road work, and during the succeeding seven 
years Congress made available over a million dollars which 
was expended under his supervision in the construction and 
improvement of park highways. He planned and constructed 
practically the entire road system comprising about four 
hundred miles of modern roads. He built the famous viaduct 
in the Golden Gate; the Melan Arch Bridge over the Yellow¬ 
stone River about the Falls, which is still the longest arch 
of that type in the world, in a style worthy of the beauty 
of the surroundings; and the Northern Entrance Arch, of 
which then President Roosevelt laid the corner-stone on 
April 24th, 1903, dedicating the arch “For the Benefit and 
Enjoyment of the People.” 

His most notable piece of construction work, however, is 
the Chittenden Road on Mount Washburn, so named by the 
Secretary of the Interior in 1913, which made available to the 
tourist that spectacular route now enabling motorists to ascend 
to an altitude of 10,100 feet—the summit of that famous 
mountain. 

Many of the improvements at Mammoth Hot Springs, in¬ 
cluding the headquarters building and the sidewalk system, 
were originated by Chittenden. 

After leaving the Park in 1908, Chittenden, then Major in 
the United States Army, lived in Seattle, Washington, where 
he planned the Lake Washington canal project, and where 
for a time he was President of the Board of Commissioners 
for the port of Seattle. 

Hiram Martin Chittenden passed away in Seattle, Wash¬ 
ington, October 9th, 1917, survived by his widow, still 
living in Seattle, and three children, Hiram Martin, Jr., 
Eleanor, and Theodore Parker, the last named having served 
two summers as ranger in Yellowstone National Park. Major 
Chittenden, as he was before his retirement, was signally 
honored by being made a brigadier general on retirement, an 
almost unprecedented tribute. A man very quiet, very modest, 
not argumentative, and one who reached decisions only 
after very careful explanation and consideration. Of hobbies, 
he had two—fishing and horseback riding. Besides his official 
duties he devoted much time to studying the Park, and about 
it, and his book covers every phase of its history and affairs, 
even to the plant life. Its careful annotations and footnotes 
indicate the painstaking scholarship that went into its mak¬ 
ing. He also wrote two other books that stand out forcibly 
in American literature “American Fur Trade of the Far 
West” and “History of Steamboat Navigation on the Missouri 
River.” 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 339 

Charles W. Cook 

Charles W. Cook, member of the Folsom-Cook exploring 
party of 1869, was born in Waldo County, Maine, in 1839. He 
completed his schooling there and, after gold was discovered 
in Montana, determined to seek his fortune in that State. He 
went to St. Joseph, Missouri, and took steamer on the Missouri 
as far as Omaha, Nebraska, whence he proceeded overland to 
Denver. There he joined a stock train and trailed 125 
cattle to Virginia City, Montana. At Green River, near Fort 
Bridger, Wyoming, they were stopped by hostile Sioux and 
Cheyenne Indians. The Indians demanded all the steers, but 
Cook persuaded them to accept one and let the party go. 
They reached Virginia City, September 22nd, 1864, consuming 
nearly four months in the trip from Denver, and remained 
there the following winter. In March 1865 he went to Last 
Chance Gulch, where Helena stands today, thence to Dia¬ 
mond City, a trading post, where he remained for five years, 
engaged in placer mining, and having charge of the affairs 
of the Ditch Company. Diamond was then a boom camp, 
with gold pouring forth from its rich diggings. Early in the 
spring of 1869 announcement was made that a party of 
citizens from Virginia, Helena and Bozeman, accompanied 
by officers and an escort of soldiers from Fort Ellis would 
leave Bozeman about September 5th for the Yellowstone 
country. Among those invited to accompany the expedition 
were David E. Folsom, a prominent pioneer, and C. W. Cook. 
The party finally dwindled to three: Folsom, Cook and William 
Peterson. The start was made from Diamond City on the 6th 
of September, 1869. On September 21st they had reached the 
Falls of the Yellowstone. From then until October 11th, 
when they returned to Diamond City, they explored what is 
now known as Yellowstone Park. This expedition had a large 
influence in leading to the expeditions in 1870 and 1871, 
which gave to the world further authentic knowledge of Yel¬ 
lowstone wonderland. In 1870 Mr. Cook was appointed re¬ 
ceiver of a milling company at old Gallatin City; he went later 
to Oregon and California, and finally located on his ranch 
near White Sulphur Springs, Montana. 

Mr. Cook has served as County Commissioner, and in other 
offices in Meagher County, where for nearly half a century 
he had been one of the leading citizens. He served as Presi¬ 
dent of the Society of Montana Pioneers. 

C. W. Cook again visited Yellowstone Park in 1922 on the oc¬ 
casion of the Semi-Centennial celebration of the establishment 

of the Park in 1872. ^ _ , 

On May 7th, 1924, the United States Geographic Board 
named a mountain near Mount Washburn in Yellowstone Park 
“Cook Peak” in honor of C. W. Cook, early pioneer of Mon- 


340 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


tana and member of the Folsom-Cook party, which explored 
the Yellowstone region in 1869. 

Gustavus C. Doane 

Lieutenant Doane was born in Illinois, May 29, 1840, and 
died in Bozeman, Mont., May 5, 1892. At the age of five he went 
with his parents, in wake of an ox team, to Oregon. In 1849 his 
family went to California at the outbreak of the gold excitement. 
He remained there ten years, in the meanwhile working his way 
through school. In 1862 he entered the Union service, went East 
with the California Hundred, and then joined a Massachusetts 
cavalry regiment. He was mustered out in 1865 as a First Lieu¬ 
tenant. He joined the Carpet-baggers and is said to have become 
Mayor of Yazoo City, Miss. He was appointed Second Lieutenant 
in the Regular Army in 1868, and continued in the service until 
his death, attaining the rank of Captain. 

Doane’s whole career was actuated by a love of adventure. 
He had at various times planned a voyage to the Polar regions, 
or an expedition of discovery into Africa. But fate assigned 
him a middle ground, and he became prominently connected with 
the discovery of the Upper Yellowstone country. His part in the 
Expedition of 1870 is second to none. He made the first official 
report upon the wonders of the Yellowstone, and his fine descrip¬ 
tions have never been surpassed by any subsequent writer. Al¬ 
though suffering intense physical torture during the greater por¬ 
tion of the trip, it did not extinguish in him the truly poetic 
ardor with which those strange phenomena seem to have inspired 
him. Dr. Hayden says of this report: “I venture to state, as 
my opinion, that for graphic description and thrilling interest 
it has not been surpassed by any official report made to our 
government since the times of Lewis and Clark.’ , 

Warren Angus Ferris 

Warren Angus Ferris, of Quaker parentage, was born at 
Glens Falls (presumably) New York, December 2'6th, 1810. 
About the beginning of the War in 1812, his parents removed 
to Erie, Pennsylvania, where his father, Angus Ferris, became 
one of the earliest owners of vessels on the Great Lakes, 
and was engaged in furnishing supplies to the American Army. 
The father died at Erie, Pennsylvania, September 10th, 1813, 
the day of Perry’s victory at Put-in-Bay, and in 1814, the 
widow and her two children removed to Buffalo, New York. 

Ferris received a good education for that day as a civil 
engineer. It is recorded that he went to Reinhardt, Texas, 
where he married and raised a family, and died near Dallas 
in 1873 at the age of sixty-three years. 

The two principal claims to distinction possessed by Ferris 
in connection with the history of Yellowstone Park, are, first. 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


341 


that he was, unlike Colter and Bridger, a well educated man 
for that day. Second, he was the first person to write and 
have published a descriptive tale of the region, its hot water 
reservoirs and fountains, which appeared in the Western 
Literary Messenger of July 13, 1842, published in Buffalo, New 
York. The title of the article “Life in the Rocky Mountains. 
A Diary of The Wanderings On The Sources Of The Rivers 
■Missouri, Columbia and Colorado, From February, 1830 to 
November, 1835. By W. A. Ferris, Then In The Employ Of 
The American Fur Company.” Ferris’ life among the moun¬ 
tains never lost its hold upon him, and it was not until eight 
years after viewing these remarkable manifestations of Na¬ 
ture displayed in the Park that his story, with the authorship 
revealed, was given to the world. 


David Edwin Folsom 


David Edwin Folsom, chief of the exploring expedition of 
1869 (see Chapter IX, Part I), was born in Epping, N. H., 
May 15, 1838. His parents, Thomas and Sarah (Morrill) Fol¬ 
som, were members of the Society of Friends. He obtained his 
education at the district school in his native town, at Friends 
Boarding School (now Moses Brown School) at Providence, R. I., 
and at Oak Grove Seminary at Vassalboro, Me. In 1861, he 
taught a school in Minneapolis, Minn. In 1862, he joined a 
party known as the “ First Fisk Expedition,” bound for the 
“ Salmon River Gold Fields.” On arriving at Fort Benton, he 
decided to remain with most of the other members of the party 
on the eastern side of the mountains. During his residence of 
over forty years in Montana, he was engaged in mining, farming, 
surveying public lands, and in sheep raising. He took an active 
part in public affairs, and was County Surveyor, County Treasurer, 
and State Senator of Meagher County, also a member of the 
commission that built the State Capitol of Montana. He was 
the Republican candidate for Governor of Montana in 1900. He 
retired from business in 1,906. 


Ferdinand Vandiveer Hayden 


“Doctor Hayden was born at Westfield, Mass., September 7, 
1829. . . . His father died when he was about ten years of age, 
and about two years later he went to live with an uncle at 
Rochester, in Lorain County, Ohio, where he remained for six 
years He taught in the country district schools of the neighbor¬ 
hood during his sixteenth and seventeenth years, and at the age 
of eighteen went to Oberlin College, where he graduated in 

18 «Wo aVnHipfl mpdioine with Dr. J. S. Newberry, at Cleveland, 



342 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


James Hall, of New York, to the Bad Lands of White River, 
in Dakota. The years 1854 and 1855 he spent exploring and 
collecting fossils in the Upper Missouri country, mainly at his 
own expense. From 1856 until 1859, he was connected as geol¬ 
ogist with the expeditions of Lieutenant Warren; engaged in 
explorations in Nebraska and Dakota. From 1859 until 1862, 
he was surgeon, naturalist, and geologist with Captain W. F. 
Raynolds, in the exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri 
Rivers. In October, 1862, he was appointed acting assistant 
surgeon and assistant medical inspector until June, 1865, when 
he resigned, and was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel for meritorious 
services during the war. He then resumed his scientific work, 
and in 1866 made another trip to the Bad Lands of Dakota, this 
time in the interest of the Academy of Natural Sciences of 
Philadelphia. In 1865, he was elected professor of mineralogy 
and geology in the University of Pennsylvania, which position he 
resigned in 1872. From 1867 to 1879, his history is that of the 
organization of which he had charge, which began as a geological 
survey of Nebraska, and became finally the Geological Survey of 
the Territories. . . . From 1879 until December, 1886, he was 
connected with the United States Geological Survey as geologist. 
His health began to fail soon after his connection with this organ¬ 
ization, and gradually became worse, and he lived only a year 
after his resignation. 

“In 1876, the degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by 
the University of Rochester, and in June, 1886, he received the 
same degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a 
member of seventeen scientific societies in the United States, 
among them the National Academy of Sciences, and was honorary 
and corresponding member of some seventy foreign societies. A 
bibliography of his writing includes 158 titles. 

“. . . The diffidence, approaching even timidity, which im¬ 
pressed his fellow-students at Oberlin, characterized Dr. Hayden 
throughout his life, and rendered it somewhat difficult for those 
who did not know him intimately to understand the reasons for 
his success, which was undoubtedly due to his energy and per¬ 
severance, qualities which were equally characteristic of him as 
a boy and student and in later life. His desire to forward the 
cause of science was sincere and enthusiastic, and he was always 
ready to modify his views upon the presentation of evidence. 
He was intensely nervous, frequently impulsive, but ever gen¬ 
erous, and his honesty and integrity were undoubted. The 
greater part of his work for the government and for science was 
a labor of love.” * 

Frank Jay Haynes 

Frank Jay Haynes, was born in Saline, Michigan, October 
28th, 1853. His boyhood was marked by hard work, and 
average schooling. At the age of 23, in 1876, he had appren¬ 
ticed as photographer and established a small studio in Moor- 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


343 


head, Minnesota. After photographing everything of note in 
that vicinity, he made a four-hundred mile photographing trip 
by stage coach in 1877 from Bismarck to Deadwood, Dakota 
Territory. 

On January 15th, 1878, he married Lily V. Snyder. To them 
that year, a daughter was born—Bessie Loa Haynes. A son, 
George O. Haynes, was born January 13th, 1883, and a second 
son, Jack E. Haynes, was born September 27th, 1884. 

He made photographing trips from Bismarck to the Pacific 
Coast when the railroad had been built only to the Missouri 
River; and a three-thousand mile river trip to Fort Benton 
and the Great Falls of the Missouri on the steamer “Far 
West,” returning from Fort Benton by flat boat. In 1880 he 
established a studio in Fargo and built a small home there. 

His first photographing trip through Yellowstone National 
Park was made in 1881. From Billings, Montana Territory, he 
drove there by wagon in August, 1882, enlarged his collection 
of photographs of the Park, and consulted Superintendent P. 
W. Norris, with a view to establishing there permanently He 
accompanied President 'Chester A. Arthur’s expedition through 
the Park in 1883, as official photographer; and also the Villard 
party over the Northern Pacific Railroad, photographing all 
along the route and near Garrison, Montana, where on Sep¬ 
tember 8th, 1883, the last spike was driven. He was official 
photographer of the Northern Pacific Railroad for over twenty 
years. In 1884 he was a granted a photographic concession in 
Yellowstone National Park, and developed all phases of that 
enterprise during the thirty-two year period in which he was 
official photographer. In 1885 a Palace Studio Car was origi¬ 
nated and owned by him, which he completely outfitted and 
used in photographing the entire Northwest from Chicago to 
Puget Sound. Having already photographed Yellowstone 
Park in summer, he made a winter photographing trip in 1887 
which was under the leadership of Lieut. Schwatka of Arctic 
fame—the first winter expedition ever attempted in the Park. 
Lieut. Schwatka fell ill at Norris and abandoned the trip, but 
Mr. Haynes, determined to secure the coveted winter pictures, 
engaged two of the hardiest members of the party and made 
the complete trip despite the bitter cold and blizzards which 
nearly cost them their lives. 

In 1888 he wrote and first published the Haynes Guide Book 
of Yellowstone Park, which is a standard handbook on the 
Yellowstone. In 1889 he moved from Fargo to Saint Paul, 
Minnesota, and established the largest studio in the Twin 
Cities. 

A second winter trip was made by him in 1894, simul¬ 
taneously with an expedition headed by Emerson Hough to 
the game ranges, which resulted in the making of strict laws 
for the prosecution of poachers in national parks. In 1897 


344 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


he built the Haynes’ Log Cabin Studio at Old Faithful—his 
second Yellowstone Shop. 

He organized a stage line, in 189 S', to transport tourists 
from Monida, Montana, to and through the Park, and was 
granted a stage line concession by the Department of the 
Interior. 

In 1914, this stage line, of which he was principal owner 
and president, was reorganized under the name of the Yellow¬ 
stone-Western Stage 'Company. The Cody-Sylvan Pass Motor 
Company, of which he was also president, was the first 
motor line operated in the Park. During 1916 it carried 
passengers between Cody, Wyoming, and Yellowstone Lake. 
After the 1916 season, horse-drawn lines were abolished in the 
Park and 'Mr. Haynes, his health failing, sold his stage hold¬ 
ings, and his photographic business, the latter "being trans¬ 
ferred to his second son, J. E. Haynes, who w^as granted the 
photographic concession in Yellowstone Park by the National 
Park Service. 

The spirit of adventure which marked his entire life was 
shown in 1920, when he took a two-hour aeroplane flight over 
the Twin Cities and the adjoining country. 

March 10th, 1921, saw the end of his eventful and interest¬ 
ing earthly life, and with him at the end of life’s journey was 
his wife who had stood by him through the molding of a 
great career. 

Mount Haynes, in Madison Canyon, three miles from Na¬ 
tional Park Mountain, was named in 1922 at the suggestion 
of Superintendent H. M. Allbright. 

Thomas Elwood (“Billy”) Hofer 

In this little group of early Park celebrities it is only fair 
to include the most distinguished representative of a very im¬ 
portant business in the early days of the Park—that of guide 
or conductor of tourist and hunting parties. “ Billy ” Hofer was 
born in New Haven, Conn., February 19, 1849. His father was 
a native of Switzerland; his mother was an American. His 
great-great-grandfather on his mother’s side fought under John 
Paul Jones in the Revolutionary War under the name of Thomas 
Ellingwood, though his real name was Thomas Elwood. The 
fact that he was at the time a British subject may have had 
something to do with his temporary change of name, which was 
later abandoned when he took up his residence in America. Being 
a thoroughly non-religious member of a very religious family, 
none of his descendants would name their boys after him, until 
finally one, of the surname Hofer, as worldly as himself, did 
honor his distinguished ancestor by giving his son the Christian 
name Thomas Elwood. In later years when the grown-up lad fell 
in with the rough-and-ready yeomanry of western Montana, they 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


345 


wouldn’t accept “ Thomas Elwood ” at all, it being too “ dudish ” 
for their pioneer taste. So they substituted the handy prefix 
“ Billy,” and it stuck to him ever after. 

Hofer’s childhood was spent in different parts of Connecticut, 
and he received a fairly good common school education there. 
Upon reaching his majority he struck out for himself and went 
first to Chicago (1871), where he worked for a time for the 
Pullman Palace Car Company. In the spring of 1872 he went 
to Denver and remained in the State of Colorado during the 
next five years. In 1877 he went to the Black Hills and thence 
across the country to Bozeman, Mont., reaching there in mid¬ 
summer at the time of the great Nez PercS excitement. Next 
year, 1878, he found employment with a party going to the 
Park. He went only as far as Mammoth Hot Springs, however, 
for the Bannock raid was then on and the country around the 
Park was unsafe for travel. In 1879 he made quite a complete 
tour of the Park, going via Tower Falls, Mt. Washburn, the 
Grand Canyon, Mud Geyser, Mary Mountain, the Firehole Basins, 
and out via Norris Basin. He followed this up next year by 
a visit to Yellowstone Lake, where he built a boat and tried to 
make some money with it in catering to the tourist trade, but 
did not succeed, and the boat later drifted over the Falls. 

Hofer’s experience as a guide in the Park was most interesting. 
It brought him into contact with great men from all over the 
world—lords, barons, presidents, generals, justices of high courts, 
scientists, writers, every class except women—which exception 
may account for the fact that he never married. His reputation 
became national, almost international. His most distinguished 
service of this kind was that to President Roosevelt on the lat¬ 
ter’s visit to the Park in 1903. 

For Hofer, as for Daniel Boone and many another pioneer, 
civilization had no charms to compare with those of the wilder¬ 
ness, and his later years were saddened by the march of “ im¬ 
provement” in the Park which robbed him of his calling there. 
In his own words he “ preferred the wilds of the mountains with 
a small party where we would not meet another living soul from 
the time we started until we returned.” It was in work like this 
that he “made hundreds of friends” whose remembrance is now 
his most valued possession. “ No one can appreciate,” he writes, 
“ how attached we became to one another as we traveled in that 
wild and rough country, for there you learn what men are as in 
no other possible way. One who has proved himself ‘ all right ’ 
there is never forgotten by his friends.” 


346 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 

'Nathaniel Pitt Langford 

Mr. Langford was born August 9, 1832, in Westmoreland, 
Oneida County, N. Y. His early life was spent on his 
father’s farm, and his education was obtained by winter attend¬ 
ance at district school. At nineteen, he became clerk in the 
Oneida Bank at Utica. In 1854, he went to St. Paul, where 
we find him, in 1855, cashier of the banking house of Marshall 
& Co., and in 1858, cashier of the Bank of the State of Minnesota. 
In 1862, he went to Montana as second in command of the 
Northern Overland Expedition, consisting of 130 men and 53 
wagons drawn by oxen. In 1864, he was made Collector of 
Internal Revenue for the new territory. In 1868, he was ap¬ 
pointed by President Johnson Governor of Montana, but as this 
was after the Senate’s imbroglio with the President and its 
refusal to confirm any more presidential appointments, he did 
not reach this office. He was onp of the famous Montana Vigi¬ 
lantes, a member of the Yellowstone Expedition of 1870, and 
first Superintendent of the newly created Park. In 1872, he was 
appointed National Bank Examiner for the Pacific States and 
Territories, and held the office for thirteen years. After leaving 
Montana he returned to St. Paul, where he continued to reside 
until his death, October 18, 1911. 

Mr. Langford is author of a series of articles in Scribner’s 
for 1871, describing the newly-discovered wonders of the Yellow¬ 
stone, and of the important work, “Vigilante Days and Ways,” 
the most complete history in existence of that critical period in 
Montana history. 

In his later years, Mr. Langford performed an invaluable 
service to the Park by editing with elaborate notes and pub¬ 
lishing in attractive form the journal which he kept of the Ex¬ 
pedition of 1870. It is perhaps the ipost valuable original docu¬ 
ment in the history of the Park. Its title is: “A Diary of the 
Washburn Expedition to the Yellowstone and Firehole Rivers in 
the year 1870.” 

The notable part which Mr. Langford bore in the discovery of 
the Upper Yellowstone country, and in the creation of the Yel¬ 
lowstone National Park, has been fully set forth elsewhere. He 
was its ardent friend, and his enthusiasm upon the subject in 
the earlier days of its history drew upon him the mild raillery 
of his acquaintances, who were wont to call him “ National 
Park” Langford—a sobriquet to which the initials of his real 
name readily lent themselves. 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 347 

Stephen Tyng Mather 

Stephen Tyng Mather was horn in San Francisco, California, 
in 1867, a descendant of old New England stock. He was 
educated in the schools of his native state, and graduated 
from the University of California, partly paying his way 
through that institution by working during his vacation 
periods. 

After graduating from the University of California, at the 
age of twenty years, he went to New York, and secured em¬ 
ployment as a reporter on the New York Sun. He remained 
there for five years, when his father prevailed on him to leave 
journalism and enter the borax business. After a few years 
of important executive work in the New York office of the 
Pacific Coast Borax Company, he was sent to Chicago to open 
a large district office there, and manage the borax business 
in that territory. Later with Thomas Thorkildsen he founded 
and developed an independent borax business now known as 
the Sterling Borax Company, in which he has been very 
successful. 

Mr. Mather entered the Interior Department on January 
21st, 1915, as Assistant to the Secretary. He and the late 
Franklin K. Lane, then Secretary of the Interior, had at¬ 
tended the University of California together, and, accidentally 
meeting in Chicago, in 1914, the Secretary asked Mr. Mather 
if he would come to Washington and round the National Parks 
System into form. One of Mr. Mather’s first official acts was 
to open Yellowstone Park to automobiles In August 1915. 
Mr. Mather saw the need of co-ordination of effort in the 
organization and perpetuation of the National Parks System, 
so he vigorously pushed a plan, previously started by Mr. J. 
Horace McFarland and others, for the creation of the National 
Park Service, which efforts met with final success on August 
25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill. Mr. 
Mather resigned as Assistant to the Secretary and became 
Director of National Park iService on May 16, 1917. He 
brought to the office the keen insight of a “man of affairs,” 
successful in his own business, and which enabled him to 
bring order out of chaos in the Park system of the Nation. 
He has gained more than nation-wide recognition for his 
work. He is intimately acquainted with all of the National 
Parks and Monuments, having studied them personally. He 
insists that the American National Parks be secure from 
commercialization and other injurious forces that they may 
be preserved to the American people, and the people of the 
world, for all time, as was the original conception of their 
institution and perpetuation. 

Mr. Mather is a man of means, and has not hesitated to 
contribute of his own wealth, and to call on his friends to 


348 


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES 


contribute toward the securing of right, title and interest in 
those things necessary to the fuller realization of his concept 
of the purpose for which the National Park Service was 
brought into being. 

Mr. Mather has been very much interested and active in the 
upbuilding of the National Park Service, and has been aptly 
named “The Welder of the Parks,” for his accomplishment in 
weaving the administration of the parks into a co-ordinated 
whole. 

Director Mather has a real appreciation of the responsibility 
of administering and caring for the national parks which are 
for the edification and pleasure of the people not alone of 
this, but of future generations. 

Henry Dana Washburn 

General Washburn was born in Windsor, Vt., March 28, 1832. 
His parents moved to Ohio during his infancy. He received a 
common school education and at fourteen began teaching school. 
He entered Oberlin College, but did not complete his course. At 
eighteen he went to Indiana, where he resumed school-teaching. 
At twenty-one he entered the New York State and National Law 
School, from which he graduated. At twenty-three he was elected 
auditor of Vermilion County, Ind. 

His war record was a highly honorable one. He entered the 
army as private in 1861 and left it as Brevet Brigadier-General 
in 1865. His service was mainly identified with the Eighteenth 
Indiana, of which he became Colonel. He was in several of the 
western campaigns, notably in that of Vicksburg, in which he 
bore a prominent part. In the last year of the war he was with 
Sherman’s army, and for a short time after its close was in 
command of a military district in Southern Georgia. In 1864, 
he was elected to Congress over the Hon. Daniel W. Voorhees, 
and again, in 1866, over the Hon. Solomon W. Claypool. At the 
expiration of his second term he was appointed by President 
Grant, surveyor-general of Montana, which office he held until 
his death. 

It was during his residence in Montana that the famous Yel¬ 
lowstone Expedition of 1870 took place. His part in that im¬ 
portant work is perhaps the most notable feature of his career. 
As leader of the expedition he won the admiration and affection 
of its members. He was the first to send to Washington speci¬ 
mens from the geyser formations. He ardently espoused the 
project of setting apart this region as a public park, and was 
on his way to Washington in its interest when his career was 
cut short by death. ' The hardship and exposure of the expedition 
bad precipitated the catastrophe to which he had long been 
tending. He left Helena in November, 1870, and died of con¬ 
sumption at his home in Clinton, Ind., January 26, 1871. 




INDEX 


The list of names in the Appendix being arranged alphabetically, 
names found in it are not included in this index unless they also 
occur in the main body of the work. 


Absaroka National Forest, 156. 
Absaroka Range, name consid¬ 
ered, 101. 
described, 157. 

Act of Dedication, 75, 77, 109, 
244. 


Act of 1883, Military Assistance 
in protecting Park, 112. 

Act of 1884, Wyoming Legisla¬ 
ture, 113. 

Act of 1894, National Park Pro¬ 
tective Act, 119. 

Act of 1894, regulating leases, 

119. 

Acting Superintendent, origin of 
title, 116. 

Administration of the Park, 252 
et seq. 

Administrative History of the Y. 

N. P„ 109 et seq. 

Albright, Horace M, 90, 254, 258, 
biography, 335-6. 

Algous growths in hot water, 189. 
Altitude, Bridger’s method of de¬ 
termining, 46. 

Alum Creek, Bridger’s story of, 
47. 

American Fur Company, 16. 
Amethyst Mountain, 321. 
Analysis of mineral waters, 196. 
Anderson, Capt. Geo. S., Superin¬ 
tendent, 120. 

“Annie,” first boat on Y. Lake, 

101 . 

Antelope, habitat of in Y. N. P., 
206. 

Apollinaris Spring, 269. 
Approaches to Park road sys¬ 
tem. 238. 

Appropriations for Park, iii, 111, 

120 . 

Arch at north entrance, 89, 244, 


263. 

Area of the Y. N. P., 155. 
Artemisia Geyser, 278. 
Arthur, Chester A., visits Y. 


N. 


P 88 

Artist Point, 304. 
Ashley, W. H., 17. 


Astor, John Jacob and the Amer¬ 
ican fur trade, 16. 

Astorian Expedition and John 
Colter, 31. 

Atlantic Creek, 107. 

Automobiles in Park, 249, 250. 
Avalanche Peak, 295. 


Bannock Ford over Yellowstone, 
318. 

Bannock incursion into Park, 
129. 

Bannock Indians, 7. 

Bannock Peak, 101. 

Bannock Trail, 8. 

Baring-Gould’s Theory of Geyser 
Action, 185. 

Barlow, Captain J. W., expedi¬ 
tion of, 70. 
quoted, 4, 280. 

Barlow Peak, 98. 

Baronett, C. J., 94, 154. 

Baronett Bridge, 126, 320. 

Baronett Peak, 94. 

Basalt rock, occurrence of, 171, 
177, 180, 317. 

Bear, 206. 

Bear Gulch, 58. 

Beartooth National Forest, 156. 

Beaver, 14, 205. 

Beaver house saves John Colter, 


28 32. 

Beaver Lake, 269. 

Bee Hive Geyser, 281. 
Belknap, W. P., visits Y. N. 
87. 


P., 


Beryl Spring, 191, 273. 

Big Game Ridge, 158. 

Birds in the Y. N. P., 208. 
Biscuit Basin, 278. 

Blackfeet Indians, 6, 22, 30. 
Black Sand Basin, 279. 

Blaine, J. G., introduces Lang¬ 
ford at Washington lecture, 


signs Act of Dedication, 78. 
Boat, first on Y. Lake, 101. 
Boat ride on Y. Lake, 292. 
Boiling River, 264. 


349 




350 


INDEX 


Bolling Springs in Y. N. P., 191. 

Bonneville, Captain, 18. 

Boundaries of the Y. N. P., 77, 155. 

Boutelle, Capt. F. A., originates 
policy of stocking Park 
streams, 211. 

Bozeman Pass, 13. 

Brackenridge, H. M„ quoted, 22, 
23 24 36. 

Bradbury, John, 25, 29, 31. 

Bridge, concrete, over Y. River, 
246. 

Bridge, high, over Gardiner River, 
325. 

Bridge, steel, over Y. River, 320. 

Bridger, James, 17, 42. 44, 49. 
biographical sketch, 336-7. 
his stories, 44 et seq. 

Bridger Lake, 95, 296. 

Bronze Geyser, 286. 

Buffalo ranch on Rose Creek, 205, 
321 

Buffalo of Y. N. P., 14, 119, 204. 

Bunsen Peak, 99, 266. 

Bunsen’s theory of geyser action, 
182, 186. 

Bureau of Information, 255. 

Burlington R. R., 296. 

Burroughs, John, in Park, 89, 
319. 

Cache Creek, name of, 58, 103. 

Calcareous Springs in the Y. N, 
P., 103, 190, 194. 

Camps, permanent, 118. 

Canyon Hotel, 301. 

Canyons of the Park, 162. 

Capitol Hill, 172. 266. 

Carpenter, Frank, member of 
Radersburg tourist party, 
130, 131, 134. 

Carpenter, R. E.. Fourth Superin¬ 
tendent Y. N. P., 114. 

Carter, Sen. Thos. H., anecdotes 
concerning, 311-12. 

Cascade Corner of the Park, 258. 

Cascade Creek, 66, 301. 

Castle Geyser, 279. 

Catlin, George, proposes a Na¬ 
tional Park, 73. 

Changes in Park, 250. 

Chemical Analysis of Park Wa- 
tcrs 196. 

Child, H. W., work of in Park, 
117, 257. 

Chittenden, General H. M., ser¬ 
vice in Park, iii, 250. 

Washburn Road named for, 311. 
biography of, 337-8. 

Chittenden, Mt., 98. 

Chittenden Bridge, 246, 300, 304. 

Chittenden Road, 239, 247. 

Christmas Tree park, 274. 

Cinnabar Mountain, 105. 

Clagett, W. H., his work for Park 
bill, 75. 


Clark, Captain Wm., at site of 
Livingston, 14, 81. 
accepts Colter’s statements, 31. 

Climate of the Y. N. P., 197 et 
seq. 

Coast and Geodetic Survey, mon¬ 
ument of, near Y. Lake, 298. 

Cody Road Lunch Station, 257. 

Cody, Wyo., terminus of Eastern 
Approach, 296. 

Colter, John, adventures of, 20 
et seq. 

discoveries of, 31. 

Colter Peak, 94. 

“Colter’s Hell,” 31, 103. 

“Colter’s Route in 1807,” 23, 24. 

Comstock, T. B., member of Cap¬ 
tain Jones’ party in 1873, 86. 
his theory of geyser action, 
184. 

Concrete bridge over Y. River, 
246, 300. 

Conger, P. H., Third Superin¬ 
tendent of Y. N. P., 111. 

Continental Divide, 158, 285-6. 

Cook, C. W., 108, 339-340. 

Cook Peak, 108. 259. 

Cooke City, 322. 

Cooke City road, 239, 319. 

Corkscrew Hill, 285. 

Corps of engineers in charge of 
road work, 120. 

Cowan, Mr. and Mrs. George F., 
members Radersburg tourist 
party, 130 et seq. 

Craig Pass, 100, 285. 

Crescent Hill Canyon, 324. 

Crevice Creek, 59, 104. 

Crook, General George, visits 
Park. 87. 

Crow Indians, territory of, 5. 

Crystal Falls, 66, 301. 

Death Gulch, 322. 

Dedication, Act of, 109. 

Deer in Park, 207. 

DeLacy Creek, 96. 

DeLacy, W. W., expedition of, in 
1863, 55 et seq. 

Delusion Lake, 104. 

De Smet, Father, quoted, 41. 

“Devil,” frequency of name in 
Y. N. P., 93. 

Devil’s Inkstand, 305. 

Devil’s Slide, 105. 

Dietrich, Richard, member of 
Helena tourist party, 140. 
killed by Nez Perc6s, 141, 144. 

Discovery of gold in Montana, 54 
et seq. 

Discovery of the Y., 60 et seq. 

Doane, Lieutenant G. C., bio¬ 
graphical sketch, 340. 
commands escort to Washburn 
Expedition, 63. 

guide to General Belknap, 87. 


INDEX 


351 


Doane, Lieutenant G. C. 

quoted, 3, 10, 65, 67, 108, 193, 
282, 283, 284, 315. 
report of, upon Washburn Ex¬ 
pedition, 69. 

Doane, Mt., 67, 97. 

Dragon’s Mouth spring, 298. 

Drainage areas of Y. N. P., 159. 

Duck Lake, 286. 

Dunraven, Earl of, quoted, 78, 
99. 

Dunraven Pass, 308. 

Dunraven Peak, 99. 

East Gardiner Canyon, 268. 

Eastern Approach, 239. 

Eaton trail, Howard, 242, 259. 

Echo Mountain, Bridger’s story 
of, 46. 

Eggshell, 275. 

Eleanor, Lake, 100, 295. 

Electric Peak, 105, 158, 263, 267. 

Elephant Back, original name for 
Washburn Range, 106. 

Elk in Y. N. P., 206, 214. 

Emerald Pool, 279. 

Entrance Gate at Gardiner, 89, 
243, 263. 

Erosion of Grand Canyon, 175. 

Evermann, Prof. B. W., cited, 
297. 

Everts, Mt., 97, 268. 

Everts, T. C., lost in the Park, 
67. 146 et seq. 

member of Washburn party, 63. 

Excelsior Geyser, 191, 276. 

Expedition of 1859-60 (Raynolds), 
49 et seq. 

of 1869 (Folsom), 60. 
of 1870 (Washburn Party), 62 
et seq. 

of 1871 (official), 70. 
prospecting parties, 54 et seq. 

Exploration of Park, 85 et seq. 

Explorations by U. S. Govern¬ 
ment in Far West, 83. 


Factory Hill, 106. 

Falls of the Yellowstone de¬ 
scribed, 300, 302. 

Fauna of the Y. N. P., 202 et 
seq. 

Fencing the Park boundary, 213. 

Ferris, W. A., at Upper Ge.vser 
Basin, 36, 225. 340-1. 

Firehole Cascade, 274. 

Spring, 191, 276. 

River, 107, 160, 225, 274. 

Fish Commission, U. S., work of 
in Y. N. P., 211. 

Fishes of the Y. N. P., 210. 

Fish hatcheries in Park, 211, 292, 
322. 


Fishing, Bridger’s story of, 47. 
Fishing Cone, west shore Y. 
Lake, 289. 

Flora of the Y. N. P„ 215 et seq. 


Flowers of the Y. N. P., 227 et 
seq. 

Folsom, D. E., biographical sketch, 
341. 

expedition of, 61 et seq. 
quoted, 261, 288, 303. 
suggests Park idea, 73. 

Folsom Peak, 96. 

Fords of Y. River, 8, 299, 318. 

“Forest and Stream,” work of, in 
Park, 87, 118. 

Forest fires, 223. 

Forests of the Y. N. P., 217 et 
seq. 

Fossil forests of the Y., 173, 321. 

Fountain Geyser, 275. 

Fountain Hotel, 274. 

French name for Y. River, 2. 

Frying Pan, 192, 270. 

Fumaroles, 194. 

Fur trade, relation of to Y. P., 
14, 82 et seq. 


Gallatin National Forest, 156. 
Gallatin Range, 158, 267. 
Gallatin River, 96, 156, 160. 
Gallatin Valley Road, 239. 

Game, importance of, in Y. N. P.. 
202, 213. 

Game preserve, the Y. N. P. as 
a, 200, 202-3, 213. 

Gannett, Henry, 93, 98. 
quoted, 105. 

Gardiner River and canyons, 159 
160, 163. 
bridge over, 325. 
name of, 94. 

Geodetic Survey Monument, 299. 
Geographical names in the Y. 
Park, 91 et seq. 

Geological history of Park, 168, 
314. 

Geological Surveys, U. S., 85, 92. 
Geology of the Y. N. P., 168 et 


seq. 

Geyser action, theories concern¬ 
ing, 181 et seq. 

Geysers, description of, 185 et 


seq. 

list of, 331. 

Giant Geyser, 279. 

Giantess Geyser, 281. 

‘Giant’s Face,” 293. 

Gibbon Canyon, 273. 

Gibbon Falls, 273. 

Gibbon, John, 85. 

Gibbon Meadows, 162, 273. 
Gibbon Paintpots, 273. 

Gibbon River, 99, 160. 

Glacial drift, 172, 177, 180. 
Glacial Epoch in Y. N. P., 171. 
Glass Mountain, Bridger’s story, 


Gold, discovery of, in Montana, 
54 et seq., 84. 

Golden Gate, 297. 


352 


INDEX 


Golden Gate, removal of rock in, 
245. 

Golden Gate Viaduct, 244, 268. 

Gradients on Pafk roads, 240. 

Grand Canyon of the Yellow¬ 
stone, 163, 176, 280, 301. 
coloring of, 2, 175, 302. 
erosion of, 176. 

Grand Geyser, 280. 

Grand Loop Road of the Park, 
238 239. 

Grand Teton. See “Teton Moun¬ 
tains.” 

altitude of, 158. 
ascent of, 291. 

Granite Boulder near Grand Can¬ 
yon, 172, 304. 

Granite inclosure, near summit of 
Grand Teton, 9, 291. 

Grant, U. S., signs Act of Dedh 
cation, 78, 109. 

Grasses of the Park, 215. 

Grasshopper Glacier region road, 
240. 


Great Fountain Geyser, 275- 
Gregg, Wm. C., 257-8. 

Grinnell, G. B.. 87, 121. 
Grosventre Indians, 6. 

Grotto Geyser, 279. 

Growler, The, 194, 271. 

Gunnison, Captain J. W., quoted, 
42. 


Hague, Arnold, quoted, 93, 106, 
203. 

Hamilton, C. A., stores, 257. 
Hancock, Gen. W. F., aids expe¬ 
dition of 1870, 63. 

Hancock, Mt., 98. 

Harding, W. G., 90, 258. 

Harris, Captain Moses, Sixth 
Superintendent, Y. N. P., 
115. 


Hauser, S. T., member of Wash¬ 
burn party, 63. 

Hayden, F. V., biographical 
sketch, 341-2. 

connection of, with Park bill, 
76. 

explorations of, in Y. N. P., 71 
et seq., 85. 

geologist to Captain Raynolds, 
49. 


quoted, 4, 92, 106, 265. 

Hayden Valley, 98, 162, 299. 
Haynes, F. J., 108, 259, 342-3. 
Haynes, J. E., note by, 121, 258. 
Haynes, Mt., 108, 259. 

Haynes Picture Shops, 257. 
Heap, Captain D. P., with Cap¬ 
tain Barlow, 1871, 70. 

Heart Lake, 161, 291. 
name of, 85. 


Hedges, Cornelius, member of 
Washburn party, 63. 


Hedges, Cornelius, 

originates National Park proj¬ 
ect, 74, 108. 
quoted, 64. 

Hedges Peak, 97. 

Helena tourists, 1877, 122, 140, 
142. 

Hell Roaring Creek, 59, 104. 

Henry, Andrew, fur trader, 30. 

Henry Lake, 95. 

Hofer, Thomas Elwood (“Billy”), 
biographical sketch, 344-5. 
cited, 32. 

president Y. Lake Boat Co., 

Holdups in Park, 272, 285, 286. 

Hoodoo Region, 322. 

Hot Springs of the Y. N. P., 188 
et seq. 

Hough, Emerson, acknowledg¬ 
ments to, 47. 

Howard Eaton Trail, 242, 259. 

Howard, General O. O., and Nez 
Perc6 campaign, 87, 124 et 
seq. 

Hoyt, J. W., expedition of, 87. 

Hudson’s Bay Fur Company, his¬ 
torical sketch, 15. 

Humphreys, Mt., 98. 

Huntley, S. S., 117. 

Hurricane, The, 194, 271. 

Huston, George, crosses Park 
country, 58. 


index Peak, 106. 

Indian Creek, 102. 

Indian Pond, 102, 293. 

Indians and name Yellowstone, 4. 
knowledge of, concerning the 
geyser regions, 11, 12, 14. 
trails of in Y. N. P., 7-8 
Indian tribes around Park, 5-7. 
Information bureau, 257. 
Inscription on pine tree near 
Grand Canyon, 33. 

Insects of Park, 212. 

Inspiration Point, 302. 

Irrigation project defeated, 121. 
Irving, Washington, 16. 

Isa Lake, 100, 285. 


Jackson, David, fur trader, 17 
Jackson Hole, 162, 289 
Jackson Lake, 95, 162. 

Jackson Lake, 93, 162. 

Jam< of 3 o neral Thom as, journal 
quoted. *25. 

Jefferson .Fork, scene of Colter’s 
adventure, 32. 

J ° ne of C 86 tEin W ' A ” ex P edition 
names Togwotee Pass, 86. 
quoted, 4. 

TCr pa fl S e it e 29«: 0t TWO ' 0cean 

Jones Creek and Pass, 98, 160. 


INDEX 353 


Joseph, Non-treaty Nez Perce 
chief, 123, 128, 132. 

Joseph Peak, 102. 

Junction Butte, 320. 

Kenck, Charles, killed by Nez 

Pprros 14-0 

Kepler Cascade, 100, 284. 

Kingman, Lieutenant D. C., pre¬ 
pares project for Park road 
system, 120. 

Lake Hotel, 292. 

Lake Shore Geyser, 289. 

Lakes of the Y. N. P., 161, 328. 

Lamar River, 100, 159, 162, 320. 
canyon of, 320. 

Langford, N. P., ascends Grand 
Teton, 291. 

biographical sketch of, 346. 
first Superintendent Y. N. P, 
110 , 120 . 

lectures on the Washburn Ex¬ 
pedition, 69. 

member of the Washburn Ex¬ 
pedition, 63. 
quoted, 46. 75, 281. 
reprints Folsom’s article, 62. 
work of, for Park bill, 76. 

Langford, Mt., 67. 97. 

Leases. Act of 1894 regulating, 
113. 

Leigh Lake, 96. 

Letter written at Three Forks of 
Missouri, 1810, 30. 

Lewis and Clark among the Man- 
dans, 1. 

expedition of, 1, 13, 81, 96. 
heard nothing of geysers, 14, 
81. 

use name “Yellow Stone,” 1, 2. 
quoted, 2, 20. 

Lewis Lake, 96, 161, 291. 

Lewis, Meriwether, kills a Gros- 
ventre Indian, 6. 

Lewis River, 160, 291. 

Liberty Cap, 265. 

Lightning Stroke on Yellowstone 
Lake, 288. 

Limber Pine, 219. 

Lion Geyser, 280. 

Lisa, Manuel, at mouth of Big¬ 
horn River, 21-2. 
employs John Colter, 21. 

Livingston, Mont., 14. 

Location of Park roads, 240. 

Lone Star Geyser, 284. 

Looking Glass, Nez Perce chief, 
123 127. 

Lookout’ Point, 302. 

“Loop” over summit of Mt. 
Washburn, 247, 308. 

Louisiana Purchase, 109. 

Lost Creek Canyon, 323. 

Lower Fall of the Y., describedf, 
302. 

Lower Geyser Basin, 274 et seq. 


Ludlow, Captain William, expedi¬ 
tion of, 86. 
quoted, 261. 

Mackenzie, theory of geyser ac¬ 
tion, 184. 

Madison Lake, 284. 

Madison National Forest, 156. 

Madison River, 96, 156, 160. 

Maintenance of Park roads, 243. 

Mammoth Hot Springs, 175, 190, 
265. 

climate of, 198. 

Mammoth Paintpots, 275. 

Map Index, 327. 

Mary Lake, 100. 

Mason, Major J. W., commands 
escort to Governor Hoyt, 87. 

Mather, Stephen T., 90, 249, 252- 
254, 347-8. 

Maynadier, Lieutenant, com¬ 
mands detachment of Ray- 
nolds Party, 50, 52. 

McCartney, C. J., attacked by 
Nez Perces, 141, 143. 

McCartney Cave, 266. 

McCartney’s Hotel, 144. 

McKinley, Pres. Wm„ incident 
concerning, 312. 

Meek, Joseph, adventures of, 34. 

Menard, Pierre, at Three Forks, 
1810, 30. 

Middle Creek, 103. 161, 163, 295. 

Middle Gardiner Falls and Can¬ 
yon, 163, 266. 

Midway Geyser Basin. 276. 

Mile Post System, 256. 

Miles, General N. A., intercepts 
and captures Nez Perces, 
127. 

Military force as Park police, 
253. 

Mineral Springs of the Y. N. P., 
therapeutic value of, 196, 
200 . 

Missouri Fur Company, 30. 

Missouri River, 160. 

Mi tsi a-da-zi, Indian name for 
Yellowstone, 4. 

Monarch Geyser, 271. 

Montana Territory, discovery of 
gold in, 54. 

Monument Geyser Basin, 273. 

Moose in Park, 207, 296. 

Moran, Mt., 89. 

Moran, Thomas, painting by, 304. 

Morning Glory, 189, 278. 

Mosquitoes, 230, 275. 

Mountains of the Park, list of, 
327. 

Mountain lions, 207. 

Mountain sheep of the Y. N. P., 
207. 

Mountain systems of the Y. N. P., 
157. 

Mud Geyser, Y. River, 193, 299. 

Mud Volcano, 298. 


354 INDEX 


Names, geographical, in Y. N. P., 
91 et seq. 

National Parks and Monuments, 
79, 80. 

National Park Mountain, 108. 

National Park project, origin of, 
73 et seq., 108. 

National Park Protective Act, 
119. 

National Park Service, 79, 80, 
121, 249, 252, 254. 

Natural Bridge, 292. 

Needle, The, near Tower Falls, 
319. 

Nez Perce Creek, 102, 132, 160, 
274. 

Nez Perce Indians, historical 
sketch of, 123 et seq. 
incursions of into Y. N. P., 125 
et seq. 

Nez Perce War, sketch of, 124 et 
seq. 

Norris, P. W., builds road of vol- 
canic glass, 269. 
discoveries of, 33. 
names objects for himself, 93, 
99, 100. 

quoted, 10, 102, 103, 323. 
road work of, 110, 120. 
second Superintendent Y. N. 
P., 110. 

Norris Geyser Basin, 270 et seq. 
discovery of, 99. 

Norris station, coldest on record 
in Park, 198. 

Northern entrance to Park, 239, 
263. 

Northern Pacific R. R., relation 
of, to Park, 116, 117, 263. 

Northern Pacific trade-mark in 
Y. N. P., 299. 

Northwest Fur Company, 15. 

Obsidian Cliff, 45, 269. 

Old Faithful Geyser, 68, 186, 

281 

Old Faithful Geyser Baths, 257. 

Old Faithful Inn, 283. 

Osprey Falls, 266. 

Otter Creek, camp site Helena 
tourists, 140, 142. 

Outlet Creek, 107, 176. 

Overhanging cliffs, 318. 

Overhead sounds near Y r . Lake, 
288. 

Owen, Wm., ascends Grand 
Teton, 291. 

Pacific Creek, 107. 

Paintpots described, 192. 

Palisades, The, 317. 

Park Curio Shop, 257. 

Patrol stations, 253. 

Peale Island, 98. 

Pelican Creek, 103, 159. 

Pend d’Oreilles Indians in geyser 
basins, 9, 37. 


Permanent camps, Wylie, 118. 

Petrifactions in Y. N. P., Bridg¬ 
ets story, 48 et seq. 

Petrified trees, 323. 

Phillips, William Hallett, friend 
of Park, 121. 

Pilot Knob, 106. 

Pickett, Col. W. D., 341. 

Pitcher, Major John, inaugurates 
policy of protection of buf¬ 
falo, 205. 

Plateaus of the Y. N. P„ 164. 

Poe, General O. M., quoted, 93. 

Potts, companion of Colter, 25. 

Precipitation in Park, 198. 

Prismatic Lake, 189, 198. 

Pritchett, Geo. A., finds Mr. 
Everts, 154. 

Prospecting expeditions, 55 et 
seq. 

Public automobile camps, 255- 

Punch Bowl, 279. 

Quaking aspen, beauty of, 221. 

Quiescent springs, 188. 

Radersburg tourist party, 1877, 
122, 130, 276 et seq. 

Raih-oads and the Y. N. P„ 112, 

121 . 

Rainfall in Y. N. P., 198. 

Ranger force, 255. 

Raymond, R. W., quoted, 4. 

Raynolds, Captain W. C., expedi¬ 
tion of, 49 et seq. 
map of, 52. 
quoted, 51, 52. 

Raynolds Pass, 96. 

Red Mountain Range, 158. 

Renshaw, Jno. R., 288. 

Reptiles in the Park, 212. 

Rhyolite rock, prevalence of, 171, 
177, 180. 

Riddle Lake, 104. 

Riverside Geyser, 279. 

Road system of the Y. N. P., 120, 
237, 240, 242, 248. 

Roaring Mountain, 106, 194, 270. 

Roche Jaune, French name for 
Y. River, 2-4. 

Rock in Golden Gate, removal of, 
245. 

Rocks of the Y. N. P., 177 et seq. 

Rocky Mountain Fur Company, 
sketch of, 17. 

Roosevelt. Theodore, visits Park, 
89, 316, 318. 

Rose Creek Buffalo Farm, 205, 
321. 

Rustic Falls, 267. 

Rustic Geyser, old logs around, 
9, 291. 

Scenery of the Y. N. P., 164 
et seq. 

Schurz, Carl, visits Park, 87. 

Semi-Centennial celebration, 258. 


INDEX 355 


Sepulcher Mountain, 106, 263, 

267. 

Sheepeater Cliffs, 102. 

Sheepeater Indians, 7, 11. 
Sheridan, General P. H., aids ex¬ 
ploration and discovery, 62. 
gives public warning of dan¬ 
gers to Park, 88, 112. 
quoted, 11. 

Sheridan, Mt., 98, 158, 291. 

an extinct volcano, 170. 
Sherman, General W. T., quoted, 
122 . 

visits Park, 87, 122. 

Shively, Nez Perce guide, 125. 
Shoshone Indians, 6. 

Shoshone Lake, 161, 286. 
Shoshone National Forest, 156. 
Shoshone Point, 285. 

Shoshone River, name of, 102, 
103, 160, 295. 

Side roads of Park, 239. 

Silica, its function in geyser for¬ 
mation, 186, 194. 

Siouan family of Indians, 5. 
Slough Creek, 59, 104. 

Smith, Jedediah, fur trader, 17. 
Snake River, 157, 160. 

Snowfall in Y. N. P., 199. 

Soaping Geysers, 183. 

Soda Butte, 321. 

Soda Butte Creek and Canyon, 
108, 160, 322. 

Soda Spring, 273. 

Solution Creek, 104. 

Southern Approach, 239, 289. 
Specimen Ridge, 321. 

Splendid Geyser, 279. 

Sponge, The, 281. 

Spring Creek Canyon, 163, 285. 
Springs, Hot, 188 et seq. 
Spurgin, Captain W. F., builds 
road for Howard across Y. 
N. P., 128 et seq. 

“Spurgin’s Beaver Slide,” 129, 
299. 

Stanton, Captain W. S., makes 
reconnaissance through Y. 

N. P., 87. 

Steamboat Spring, 194, 294. 
Steam vents, 193. 

Stevenson, J., ascends Grand 
Teton, 291. 

Stevenson, Mt., 98. 

Stewart, J., escapes from In¬ 
dians, 141. 

“Stinking Water.” See “Sho¬ 
shone.” 

Stone, Benj., experience of, with 
Nez Perces, 142-5. 

Streams of the Y. N. P., 159. 

list of. 329. 

Stuart, James, 58. 

Sturgis, General, S. D., attacks 

Ajpw *127 

Sublette, William, for trader, 17, 

34 . 


Sulphur Mountain, 299. 

Spring, 191. 

“Summit of the World,” 156. 
Superintendent of the Park, im¬ 
portance of office, 110. 
Surprise Pool, 275. 

Swan Lake Flat, 162, 267. 
Sylvan Lake, 294. 

Sylvan Pass, 157, 198, 294. 

Talmage, T. DeWitt, quoted, 302, 
304. 

Tangled Creek, 109. 

Temperatures in Y. N. P., 197-8. 
Terraces at Mammoth Hot 
Springs, 175. 265. 

Terrace Mountain, 175, 267. 
Teton Mountains, 107, 158, 162, 
286, 290. 

Teton National Forest, 156. 
Therapeutic value of springs in 
Y. N. P„ 200. 

Thermal activity in Park, 174. 
Third Canyon of the Y., 324. 
Thompson, David, and name 
“Yellowstone,” 1, 2. 
“Thumb,” The, 286-7. 

Togwotee Pass, 86. 

Topography, Y. N. P., 155. 
Topping, E. S., quoted, 104. 

Tour of the Y. N. P., description 
of, 260 et seq. 

Tower Creek, 159, 316, 318. 
Tower Falls, 108, 318. 

Trader and trapper in Yellow¬ 
stone history, 14, 19, 81. 
Trails, Indian, 7-8. 
Transportation system of the Y. 

N. P., 117, 237. 

Travertine rocks, 268. 

Trout Creek, serpentine course 
of, 299. 

Trout in Y. Lake, 211. 

Trout Lake, 211, 322. 

Trumbull, Walter, member Wash¬ 
burn Party, 63, 69. 

Turbid Lake, 192, 293. 

Turquoise Spring, 192, 293. 

Twin Lakes, 270. 

Two-Ocean Pass, 86, 296. 

Tyndall, John, quoted, 189. 

Undine Falls, 268. 

Union Geyser, 286. 

Union Pass, 50. 

U. S. Geological Survey, explora¬ 
tions of, 85, 92. 
names by, in Y. N. P., 92, 93, 
98. 

U. S. Postoffice, 255. 

Upper Falls of the Y., 300. 
Upper Geyser Basin, 278 et seq. 
Utilities in the Park, 257. 

Valleys of the Y. N. P., 161. 
Vest, Sen. Geo. G., 121. 


356 INDEX 


Victor, Mrs. Frances Fuller, 
quoted, 34. 

Virginia Cascade, 100, 271. 

Volcanic activity in Park, 170. 

Washburn Expedition. (See 
“Expedition of 1870.”) 

Washburn, General H. D., bio¬ 
graphical sketch, 348-9. 
chief of Washburn Expedition, 
63. 

quoted, 108. 

Washburn, Mt„ 97, 158, 309, 

313. 

ascent of, described, 306, 307 
et seq. 

extinct volcano, 170, 314. 
historical sketch from summit, 
313. 

Washburn Range, 158. 

Washburn road named for Gen. 
Chittenden, 311. 
significance of, in Park tour, 
306. 

Waterfalls of Y. N. P.. 161, 331. 

Waters, E. C., career of, in Park, 
119. 

Water supply for Mammoth Hot 
Springs, 269. 

Wear, D. W., fifth Superintend¬ 
ent Y. N. P., 115. 

Wedded trees, 272, 294. 

Weikert, A. J., experience of 
with Nez Perces, 141, 143. 

We-Saw, Shoshone Indian, 10. 

Western Approach, 239, 274. 

Wheeler, O. D., discovers Ferris’ 
Journal, 37, 

Whittaker, George, stores, 257. 

Willow Park, 162, 269. 

Wilson, Gen. John M., befriends 
Park, 121. 

Wveth, Nathaniel J., 18. 

Wylie, W. W., 118. 

Wylie Permanent Camps, 118, 
256. 

Wyoming Territory attempts to 
protect Park, 113. 

Yancey, John, 310, 324. 

“Yancey’s,” 162, 324. 

“Yellowstone,” origin of name, 
1 - 4 . 


Yellowstone Lake, description of, 
161, 287 et seq. 
first boat on, 101. 
geological extent of, 176. 
overhead sounds near, 288. 
trout in, 211. 

Yellowstone Lake Boat Co., 119, 
255. 

Yellowstone National Park, ad¬ 
ministration of, 252-9. 
administrative history of, 109 
et seq. 

Yellowstone National Park, area 
of, 155. 

boundaries of, 77, 155. 
climate of, 197. 
dedication of, 109. 
drainage areas of, 159. 
exploration of, 85 et seq. 
fauna of, 202 et seq. 
first suggestion of, 73, 108. 
flora of, 215 et seq. 
flowers of, 227 et seq. 
forests of, 217 et seq. 
future of, iv, 250. 
geographical names in, 91 et 
seq. 

geology of, 168. 
hotels of, 117. 
lakes of the, 161. 
mountain systems of, 157. 
road system of, 120, 237, 240 
et seq. 

scenery of, 164 et seq. 
tour of, 260 et seq. 

Yellowstone Park Association, 
116. 

Yellowstone Park Camps Com¬ 
pany, 257. 

Yellowstone Park Hotel Com¬ 
pany, 257. 

Yellowstone Park Improvement 
Company, 111. 

Yellowstone Park Transportation 
Company, 117, 257. 

Yellowstone River, 159. 
flow of, 160. 
source of, 2, 159. 

Yellowstone and Western Stage 
Company, 118. 

Yount Peak, source of the Y. 
River, 2, 94, 159. 






































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